Planting Dates for Potatoes in the Southern United States
- In Texas, potato planting often occurs in February and early March for early crops and in mid-August for late harvest. Planting of sweet potatoes in southern Missouri occurs later, in the last weeks of April. States between Texas and southern Missouri will encounter suggested planting times between February and late April.
- You may plant seed potatoes in the spring when the soil temperatures reaches at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit, at a depth of 4 inches. If you intend to plant a late crop, wait until air temperatures drop below 90 degrees, towards the middle of August.
- Seed potatoes take approximately two weeks to emerge from the soil, so the earliest possible planting time should be two weeks before the final expected freeze date. For fall crops, be sure you plant seed potatoes approximately 110 days before the first frost/freeze of the fall to ensure harvest before freezing damages growing potatoes.
