When to Plant Potato

Enter your ZIP code to see the potato planting windows from the frost dates at the nearest weather station. The rules below come from university extension publications and count from the average last or first frost.

Your area

Risk level

How much frost risk you'll accept. Each level uses the frost dates with this chance of a frost after the last-frost date or before the first-frost date: Conservative 10%, Typical 30%, Aggressive 50%.

Planting year

The year the frost dates and windows are placed on.

Potato planting windows

Potato planting rules

Each rule counts days or weeks from the average last spring frost or first fall frost in its source. YepPlant applies the same count to the 32°F frost dates at each risk level: Conservative (10%), Typical (30%), and Aggressive (50%). A range in a rule becomes a range in the window. Where sources differ or don't give a single value, the value is YepPlant's reading of the sources, and it stays within what they say.

Potato planting rules, from university extension publications
Rule	Value	Sources
Frost threshold	32°F frost dates	—
Planting material	Seed potatoes	UNH, NCSUYepPlant's reading of these sources
Transplant outdoors	Not available	—
Start seeds indoors	Not available	—
Plant seed potatoes	From 28 days before the last spring frost to the last spring frost date	CSU, USU, UMD-P, UNHYepPlant's reading of these sources
Days to maturity from planting	95 to 155 days	CSU, UMD-P, NCSUYepPlant's reading of these sources
Frost Tender Factor	None: not added for this crop	UNL
Last planting date	First fall frost − days to maturity from planting	—
Fall planting	Not available	—
Crop rotation	Plant this crop's family in the same spot at most once every 3 years	NCSU

Not available means no rule from the sources is used for it, so no window depends on it. Rows without a source follow the rules shared by all crops, described on the methods and sources page.

Sources

University extension publications, with the date each was retrieved. The frost dates come from NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals at the weather station nearest your ZIP code, and the station is found from the Census Bureau's ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

CSU: Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720: Vegetable Planting Guide: Used for: Plant seed potatoes, Days to maturity from planting. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
USU: Utah State University Extension: Suggested Vegetable Planting Dates for Utah: Used for: Plant seed potatoes. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
UMD-P: University of Maryland Extension: Vegetables for Spring and Fall Planting: Used for: Plant seed potatoes, Days to maturity from planting. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
NCSU: NC State Extension, Extension Gardener Handbook Chapter 16: Vegetable Gardening: Used for: Planting material, Days to maturity from planting, Crop rotation. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
PUR: Purdue Extension, HO-66-W: The Fall Vegetable Garden: Consulted, but no rule on this page comes from it. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
UNL: Nebraska Extension, NebGuide G1343: Fall Vegetable Gardening: Used for: Frost Tender Factor. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
UNH: UNH Cooperative Extension: Growing Vegetables: When to Plant your Vegetable Garden: Used for: Planting material, Plant seed potatoes. Retrieved October 13, 2026.

Data sources

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, frost dates, 1991–2020 normals, version 1.0.1: Files: us-climate-normals_1991-2020_v1.0.1_annualseasonal_multivariate_by-station_c20230404.tar.gz, inventory_30yr.txt from NOAA NCEI. Retrieved October 10, 2026.
U.S. Census Bureau ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, 2026 Gazetteer Files and 2020 ZCTA to County Relationship File: Files: 2026_Gaz_zcta_national.zip, tab20_zcta520_county20_natl.txt, national_state2020.txt from the U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 10, 2026.