Florida · zones 8b–11a
When to plant potatoes in Florida.
Sow between Dec 27 to Jan 29 in a typical year, keyed to Florida's median last frost around Feb 3. A second, fall sowing fits Aug 27 to Sep 9. Dates below are state medians; your ZIP code shifts them by days to weeks.
The 2026 windows
Potatoes dates for a typical Florida season.
Direct sow
Dec 27 to Jan 29
Keyed to the ~Feb 3 last frost. Sow 4" deep, 12" apart.
Fall round
Aug 27 to Sep 9
Counted back from the ~Dec 15 first frost.
Harvest
~90 days later
~3 lb per plant over ~1 weeks.
Florida spans more than one climate: Zone 9 is the most common zone, but the state runs 8b to 11a. That's why the planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not your zone: mountain and coastal gardens in the same state can be three weeks apart.
Florida growing notes
Hastings built a potato industry on a season most states don't have.
A winter crop where potatoes are usually a summer one
Northeast Florida's Hastings area has grown Irish potatoes commercially for generations, and the reason is Florida's inverted calendar: potatoes need cool weather to size up tubers and stop producing once the ground gets hot, which makes them a genuine winter and early-spring crop here rather than the summer staple they are further north. Plant into the cool months rather than waiting for frost risk to clear entirely: north Florida gardens go in January through March, central Florida November through February, and south Florida as early as October. Frost can still nip the tops in the north, but hilling soil over the row protects the tubers underneath and the plant regrows from there.
That early planting is workable specifically because Florida's frost season ends so early in the year, giving a full cool stretch to grow a crop that would otherwise need to dodge both a late spring frost and an early summer heat wave the way a shorter-season state's potato crop has to. Waiting until frost risk is fully past pushes the crop into bulking during Florida's early heat, the one outcome this timing exists to avoid. Home gardeners anywhere in the state can follow the same logic Hastings growers use, even without that region's specific soil.
Scab and sand fight each other here too
Potato scab shows up as a rough, corky patch on the skin, and it stays rare wherever soil pH holds at 5.2 or under, with 5.5 marking the point where the disease starts finding room to spread; Florida's naturally sandy, often slightly acidic ground frequently sits close to that range already without much amendment needed, which is one advantage the sand has over a limed clay bed elsewhere. Do not add lime to a potato bed here on the assumption that every vegetable wants it; check the pH first, since pushing it past 5.5 opens the door to scab that the sand was otherwise keeping shut.
Seed potato pieces need to callus over, forming a dry seal across the cut face, before they go into the ground; skipping that step in Florida's often-damp winter soil is a common way for a promising planting to rot before it sprouts. Spread cut pieces in a single layer somewhere shaded and check them daily, since Florida's humidity can stretch that wait out longer than a drier state needs; the piece is ready once the cut face looks dry and slightly leathery rather than moist.
Colorado potato beetle and a shorter break between rounds
Colorado potato beetle spends the winter as an adult buried just under the surface of the same ground potatoes grew in, and Florida's mild cold snaps do less to knock that population down than a hard northern freeze would, so it climbs back out fast once warmth returns. Moving potatoes to new ground for three years running rather than replanting the same strip matters as much in Florida as anywhere, arguably more, given that thinner winter knockdown.
Scout twice weekly from the moment plants emerge, checking leaf undersides for the bright yellow-orange egg clusters that hatch into humpbacked orange larvae within about a week. Hand-picking adults and crushing eggs keeps most home plantings under control, and doing it early in the compressed Florida season matters more than it would in a state where the crop has a longer stretch to recover from early damage.
In Florida: watch for
The pests that find potatoes here.
With about 315 frost-free days, potato spends longer in the ground here than in most of the country, which widens the window in which colorado potato beetle can find it. Scout weekly from midseason and act on the first signs.
Striped beetles and orange grubs eating the leaves.
Organic fix: Handpick adults, crush the orange egg clusters, dust with diatomaceous earth.
Dark greasy blotches after cool, wet spells.
Organic fix: Pull infected plants fast, keep leaves dry, use neem as a preventive.
Common scab
Rough, corky patches on the skin, raised on some tubers and sunk into pits on others.
Organic fix: Keep the bed evenly moist through the weeks right after tubers set, rotate away from potatoes, and pick a scab-resistant variety next time.
Your season math: Florida gives potatoes about 315 frost-free days, and it needs roughly 90 days to a first harvest. It's a one-planting crop, so time that single sowing well.
Planting potatoes in Florida: questions
When should I plant potatoes in Florida?+
In a typical Florida year, sow potatoes between Dec 27 to Jan 29, keyed to the state's median last frost around Feb 3. There's also a fall window: Aug 27 to Sep 9. Your exact dates shift with your ZIP code and microclimate.
What USDA zone is Florida?+
Florida spans zones 8b–11a, mostly zone 9. But frost dates, not zones, set planting time. The free planner uses your ZIP code's actual frost dates.
How many potatoes plants do I need?+
Depends who you're feeding. The crop page has exact counts per household size, or the free planner does the math for your family in about 60 seconds.