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California planting dates

When to Plant Potatoes in California

For potatoes in California, spring planting starts between Aug 1 (Butte County) and Jun 1 (Los Angeles County); fall planting runs Dec 1 to Feb 28, according to UC Master Gardener Program.

Photo: Long neat rows of green potato plants stretching across a farm field. Malcolm Neal, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

More planting dates for California

Planting dates for each crop in California, from the UC Master Gardener Program calendar.

Tomatoes

Peppers

Sweet Corn

Green Beans

Cucumbers

Squash

Lettuce

Onions

Planting potatoes in California: questions

When do you plant potatoes in California?

For potatoes in California, spring planting starts between Aug 1 (Butte County) and Jun 1 (Los Angeles County); fall planting runs Dec 1 to Feb 28, according to UC Master Gardener Program.

Can I plant potatoes in the fall in California?

Yes. Fall planting runs Dec 1 to Feb 28.

How do frost dates affect planting potatoes?

Yes. The California frost dates page gives the 10% and 50% dates for every county.

Where do these dates for potatoes come from?

California Master Gardener Handbook Table 13.2 Time of planting (UC Master Gardener Program statewide page; table 'Recommended planting dates', source: California Master Gardener Handbook, Table 13.2).

Do these dates change by county?

Dates follow the region the county is assigned to here, from the four regions in the UC table.

Photos: Long neat rows of green potato plants stretching across a farm field: Malcolm Neal, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Potato plants growing in a home garden: Geo Lightspeed7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Potato plant growing in a garden bed: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Orange and blue spring wildflowers below the eastern face of the Sierra Nevada at Owens Peak Wilderness: Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Yellow brittlebush in bloom with desert mountains behind in Mojave Trails National Monument: blmcalifornia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Warm-lit rock walls of Afton Canyon in the Mojave Desert: blmcalifornia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Pile of ripe tomatoes: Jubair Bin Iqbal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pepper plant in a kitchen garden loaded with green, yellow and red peppers: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Tall corn plants with golden tassels against a summer sky in a field: inkknife_2000, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Clusters of long green bean pods hanging from a climbing bean vine: Nirajan_pant, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cucumber plants growing in a greenhouse bed: HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Zucchini plant with a yellow flower: net_efekt from Oxford, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Green and red leaf lettuce heads growing along drip lines in a garden bed: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons; Long rows of green onion plants growing in sandy farm soil: ליזי שאנן, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.