When to plant potatoes in zone 8a

The zone 8a schedule for potatoes

Sow outdoors

March 8 to 15

First harvest, roughly

June 1 to July 13

Plant for a fall crop

July 18 to 25

From the median frost dates of the NOAA stations assigned to the 2,584 ZIP codes in zone 8a, and the timing recommended by Cooperative Extension guides for potatoes.

Dates before the last frost assume the soil has thawed and is dry enough to work: a squeezed handful crumbles instead of sticking. After a late or wet spring, wait for that even if the date has passed.

Frost risk in zone 8a

Zones are based on winter cold, not on frost dates, so the last spring frost varies a lot within a zone. Across zone 8a, the typical last frost ranges from about March 18 in the earliest tenth of ZIP codes to April 7 in the latest tenth, and the first fall frost from October 31 to November 16. For a typical place in the zone:

• March 9Risky: a later frost happens in 9 years out of 10
• March 29Typical: frost after this date in half of years
• April 14Safe: a later frost only 1 year in 10

Potatoes in zone 8a cities