Garden Tempo

Texas, U.S. · outdoor planting

When to plant potatoes in Texas

Plant Irish seed potatoes about 4–6 weeks before the local frost-free date. For fall, count back 14–16 weeks from the first freeze, but regional guidance is selective: no fall crop in Regions I or V, with August 1, September 1 and October 1 anchors for Regions II–IV.

Choose the Texas timing rule
Spring
4–6 weeks before the local frost-free date
Based on your local frost-free date
Fall
14–16 weeks before the first freeze where recommended
Based on your local first freeze
Start with
Plant Irish seed tubers
This page is for Irish potatoes, not sweet potatoes. Use sound seed pieces and keep the two crops’ planting material and seasons separate.

Spring and fall are different calculations

Start with your local frost date

Texas is too large for one planting day. Spring timing is measured from the local average frost-free date. Fall timing is measured backward from the local first freeze, then checked against the Texas A&M regional anchor when one is published.

Spring rule

4–6 weeks before the local frost-free date

Use the frost-free date for your garden, not a statewide average.

Fall rule

14–16 weeks before the first freeze where recommended

Count backward from the local first freeze and leave room for establishment.

Texas A&M gardening regions

Regional planning anchors

Texas A&M divides the state into five gardening regions. The dates below are planning anchors, not boundaries that follow county lines and not promises about one exact garden.

Region I

Fall average: Not recommended

Northern Panhandle

Region II

Fall average: Aug 1

West Texas and the High Plains

Region III

Fall average: Sep 1

North, East and Central Texas

Region IV

Fall average: Oct 1

South Texas

Region V

Fall average: Not recommended

Lower Rio Grande Valley

Plant only when the crop is ready

The calendar is the first filter

A date can be inside the planning range and still be a poor planting day. Check the crop-specific conditions before committing seed or plants.

  • The crop is Irish potato, not sweet potato.
  • The soil can be worked without remaining saturated.
  • A fall crop is explicitly supported in the selected region and has enough time before freeze.

Method changes timing

How to start potatoes

This page is for Irish potatoes, not sweet potatoes. Use sound seed pieces and keep the two crops’ planting material and seasons separate.

Use seed potatoes

Do not substitute grocery potatoes or sweet-potato slips for the seed-tuber method described here.

Prepare pieces before planting

Use sound pieces and follow current crop guidance for cutting and curing rather than planting damaged material.

Check fall feasibility

A warm region is not automatically suitable; Texas A&M marks both Region I and Region V fall planting not recommended.

When the simple answer breaks

Early and late decisions

A usable planting page needs an action when weather, region or maturity no longer fits the headline range.

Region I or V fall crop

Use spring instead

The regional source does not recommend a fall Irish potato date for these regions.

Sweet potatoes

Switch to the separate guide

Sweet potatoes use slips, a later warm-season start and no routine fall window.

Why this answer is shaped this way

Warmest does not always mean a fall crop

Region V is warm but still marked not recommended for fall Irish potatoes. That is why the site preserves the official regional decision instead of inferring from temperature alone.