One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 7a should be read to estimate when to plant sweet potatos.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Potatos

Frost tolerance for sweet potatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You can not plant sweet potatos until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant sweet potatos in Zone 7a is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sweet potatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sweet potatos may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your sweet potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Zone 7a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 7a and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 7a there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your sweet potatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 7a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 7a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 7a.