State × crop calendar
Potatoes planting in California.
- Secondary crop
- Zone 9a
- 270-day season
- Last frost March 1
- Vegetable
- Semi-Hardy
Potatoes planting in California is shaped by the state's 9a dominant hardiness zone, last frost date around March 1, and a 270-day growing season. Potatoes is grown in California but is not a dominant crop — works for home gardens, food plots, and some commercial production.
Planting dates on this page are climatological estimates from USDA frost-date norms and zone-typical planting offsets. Verify against University of California Cooperative Extension for variety- and county-specific guidance.
Planting calendar — 2026
Frost-anchored windows.
Potatoes · California · planting calendar
Planting windows shift earlier in southern parts of the state and later in northern parts. Use last frost date in your specific county as the reference.
Planting windows
Earliest → ideal → latest.
Spring planting
PotatoesEarliest
February 9
Ideal start
February 16
Ideal end
March 8
Latest
March 22
Soil-temp trigger
Plant when soil reaches 45°F at 4-inch depth — often 2-4 weeks before last frost. Cool-season crop.Fall planting
PotatoesEarliest
September 1
Ideal start
September 16
Ideal end
October 1
Latest
October 16
Soil-temp trigger
Plant when soil reaches 45°F at 4-inch depth — often 2-4 weeks before last frost. Cool-season crop.Harvest window
Typical start
April 26
Typical end
June 5
Harvest timing varies with planting date and seasonal weather — these dates are typical for the ideal planting window.
Growing notes
Potatoes can be successfully grown in California with attention to variety selection. The state's 270-day growing season requires choosing varieties appropriate for the growing window.
Potatoes is grown in California but is not a dominant crop — works for home gardens, food plots, and some commercial production.
Agronomy reference
Potatoes fundamentals.
Soil-temp minimum
45°F
Soil-temp optimum
50–70°F
Days to maturity
70–110
Water (in/wk)
1–1.5"
Soil pH
5–6.5
Nitrogen demand
moderate
Cool season — plant 2-4 weeks before last frost. Fall potato crop is possible in southern states.
Common pests to watch
- Colorado potato beetle
- Wireworms
- Aphids
Pest pressure varies by region and year. Confirm current outbreaks with University of California Cooperative Extension.
Common diseases
- Late blight
- Early blight
- Scab
Resistance varieties shift each year. Check the current variety trial report for your state.
Variety selection
Potatoes varieties for California live with your extension.
Variety selection
Variety performance is micro-regional and changes with each year's trial cycle. We don't republish variety lists — instead, we point directly at the source.
University of California Cooperative Extension →Search the extension site for “potatoes variety trial” or “recommended potatoes varieties” to find the current report.
Yield varies significantly by variety, soil, fertility, and management. Consult your state extension service for variety performance trials in your region.
Potatoes timing. Live alerts.
Bield Farm ties weather and soil-temperature stations in your county to crop planting thresholds — get notified the day soil temp clears your target window.
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