🍠 When to Plant Sweet Potatoes

🥬 Vegetable
Warm Season

Needs 90-120 warm days; start slips indoors

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Apr 4 Jun 13
Zone 3B May 15 Mar 20 May 29
Zone 4A May 8 Mar 13 May 22
Zone 4B May 1 Mar 6 May 15
Zone 5A Apr 25 Feb 28 May 9
Zone 5B Apr 18 Feb 21 May 2
Zone 6A Apr 21 Feb 24 May 5
Zone 6B Apr 10 Feb 13 Apr 24
Zone 7A Apr 5 Feb 8 Apr 19
Zone 7B Mar 28 Jan 31 Apr 11
Zone 8A Mar 20 Jan 23 Apr 3
Zone 8B Mar 12 Jan 15 Mar 26
Zone 9A Feb 28 Jan 3 Mar 14
Zone 9B Feb 15 Dec 21 Mar 1
Zone 10A Feb 1 Dec 7 Feb 15
Zone 10B Jan 15 Nov 20 Jan 29
Zone 11A Jan 1 Nov 6 Jan 15

Sweet potatoes need heat and a long season but are incredibly productive and nutritious.

Top Growing Tips

  • Grow from slips (sprouts), not seed — order or start your own
  • Needs 90-120 frost-free days with warm soil
  • Black plastic mulch warms soil in cooler zones
  • Harvest before first frost — cold damages tubers
  • Cure at 80-85°F for 10 days for sweetest flavor and best storage

Companion Planting

Good companions: beans, corn, thyme

Avoid planting near: squash (compete for space)

Harvest Timeline

90-120 days from slips