When to Plant Potatoes in Louisiana: Counting Back From Your Last Frost
In New Orleans and the rest of south Louisiana, potatoes go into the ground weeks before anyone’s last frost passes, not after it.
Gardening in Louisiana
Everything we have worked out for Louisiana: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in New Orleans, the last spring freeze runs January 18 to February 8 and the first fall freeze runs December 17 to January 8, USDA zones 8a-10a, 7,275 growing degree days in the year.
Heat, not frost, is what shortens the season here: above 86 °F tomato pollen goes sterile, so growers run a spring crop and an autumn one rather than a single long season. Garlic is the awkward one: only 0 weeks below 40 °F, where it needs six to split into cloves. Chill the cloves before planting, or grow a softneck type.
Elsewhere on the property in Louisiana: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Harvesting and Storing Potatoes in Louisiana
Louisiana potatoes come out of the ground ahead of summer’s heat, not ahead of a fall freeze, and that single fact rewrites the whole storage plan.
Potato Varieties That Suit Louisiana
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When Does the Heating Season Start in Louisiana?
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What to Plant in Louisiana in September
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What to Plant in Louisiana in October
October in Louisiana is a planting month, not a waiting month. With the first fall frost still ten to twelve weeks out across most of the state…
What to Plant in Louisiana in November
November is the Deep South’s best-kept planting secret. With the first fall frost still weeks away across most of Louisiana, this is prime time to fill…
What to Plant in Louisiana in May
By May, Louisiana gardens have already left frost behind. The state’s frost window closes somewhere between January 18 and February 8 depending on…
What to Plant in Louisiana in March
March in Louisiana lands well past the state’s average last frost window of January 18 to February 8, so this is a working month, not a waiting month.
What to Plant in Louisiana in June
June in Louisiana isn’t a frost question at all, it’s a heat question. With the last spring freeze already months behind (mid-January through early…