When to Plant Potatoes in Massachusetts: Counting Back From Your Last Frost
Plant potatoes in Massachusetts when soil temperature hits 50°F, which lands roughly 14 to 21 days before the last spring frost.
Gardening in Massachusetts
Everything we have worked out for Massachusetts: 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 Boston, the last spring freeze runs April 1 to April 8 and the first fall freeze runs November 3 to November 14, USDA zones 5a-7b, 3,084 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 21.8 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Massachusetts: 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 Massachusetts
Massachusetts growers get one clear signal for the potato calendar: the first fall frost lands November 3 to November 14 across the state’s mildest…
Potato Varieties That Suit Massachusetts
Massachusetts gardeners do best matching potato season class, not brand name, to their local frost window.
When Does the Heating Season Start in Massachusetts?
Most Massachusetts homes start heating in October, when the statewide reference station at Boston Logan sees its normal mean temperature drop to 54.8 F…
What to Plant in Massachusetts in September
September in Massachusetts is still an active planting month, not a wind-down.
What to Plant in Massachusetts in October
October in Massachusetts means garlic and shallot cloves going into the ground, spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils getting tucked in, and cover crops…
What to Plant in Massachusetts in November
By November, most of Massachusetts has already crossed its first fall frost, so the honest answer for open ground is: garlic and shallots if the soil is…
What to Plant in Massachusetts in May
May is the month Massachusetts gardeners have been waiting for. By the time the calendar turns, most of the state is past its frost risk, soil has…
What to Plant in Massachusetts in March
March sits before the frost window even at the mildest edge of Massachusetts, so direct outdoor planting stays limited to the toughest crops.
What to Plant in Massachusetts in June
By June, Massachusetts gardens are past the frost line and running on soil warmth, not the calendar.