PlotChallenge
Carrots

Home › Crops › Carrots

When to plant carrots

Seed is slow to come up (two to three weeks) and must not dry out. Never transplant. Roots keep in the ground into winter.

Photo: domdomegg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Hardy. Can go in 3 weeks before the average last frost and stands about 6 weeks of autumn frost.
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 7°C45°F or more
Heat limit
Average highs above 33°C91°F while it matures (it bolts)
Days to harvest
About 70 days from sowing in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 8 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
89 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Los Angeles, January 1
Latest start (north)
Phoenix, October 21
Can go in this week
25 cities

Carrots: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
Los AngelesCalifornia
San DiegoCalifornia
San FranciscoCalifornia
San JoseCalifornia
HonoluluHawaii
AustinTexas
San AntonioTexas
DallasTexas
El PasoTexas
MemphisTennessee
PortlandOregon
BirminghamAlabama
Little RockArkansas
AtlantaGeorgia
CharlotteNorth Carolina
RaleighNorth Carolina
NashvilleTennessee
TulsaOklahoma
SeattleWashington
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
RichmondVirginia
LouisvilleKentucky
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
LondonEngland
CardiffWales
BaltimoreMaryland
Kansas CityMissouri
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
BristolEngland
VancouverBritish Columbia
St. LouisMissouri
ManchesterEngland
Salt Lake CityUtah
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
DublinIreland
BelfastNorthern Ireland
CincinnatiOhio
IndianapolisIndiana
ColumbusOhio
New YorkNew York
PittsburghPennsylvania
OmahaNebraska
BirminghamEngland
Des MoinesIowa
GlasgowScotland
BoiseIdaho
ClevelandOhio
ChicagoIllinois
EdinburghScotland
SpokaneWashington
BostonMassachusetts
DetroitMichigan
MinneapolisMinnesota
DenverColorado
BillingsMontana
MilwaukeeWisconsin
MadisonWisconsin
PortlandMaine
TorontoOntario
BuffaloNew York
FargoNorth Dakota
MontrealQuebec
BurlingtonVermont
OttawaOntario
EdmontonAlberta
HalifaxNova Scotia
WinnipegManitoba
CalgaryAlberta
AnchorageAlaska
CharlestonSouth Carolina
JacksonvilleFlorida
MiamiFlorida
SacramentoCalifornia
New OrleansLouisiana
OrlandoFlorida
TampaFlorida
HoustonTexas
FresnoCalifornia
Las VegasNevada
TucsonArizona
PhoenixArizona
Southern hemisphere
HobartTasmania
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory
SydneyNew South Wales
MelbourneVictoria
BrisbaneQueensland
PerthWestern Australia
AdelaideSouth Australia
AucklandNew Zealand

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow outdoorsHarvest
Los Angeles CaliforniaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Diego CaliforniaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Francisco CaliforniaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Jose CaliforniaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu HawaiiJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Austin TexasJan 30 – Apr 26, Sep 24 – Oct 26Nov 17 – Jan 17, Apr 8 – Aug 11
San Antonio TexasJan 30 – Apr 20, Sep 25 – Oct 30Nov 17 – Jan 17, Apr 4 – Aug 5
Dallas TexasFeb 9 – Apr 26, Sep 19 – Oct 13Nov 13 – Jan 13, Apr 20 – Aug 11
El Paso TexasFeb 9 – Apr 5, Sep 24 – Oct 5Nov 26 – Jan 4, Apr 23 – Jul 22
Memphis TennesseeFeb 23 – May 25, Aug 28 – Sep 25May 8 – Sep 9, Oct 19 – Dec 31
Portland OregonFeb 27 – Aug 31Jun 9 – Jan 3
Birmingham AlabamaFeb 28 – May 17, Sep 5 – Sep 30May 6 – Sep 1, Oct 29 – Dec 26
Little Rock ArkansasFeb 28 – May 11, Sep 4 – Sep 26May 7 – Aug 26, Oct 28 – Dec 25
Atlanta GeorgiaMar 3 – Jul 9, Aug 4 – Sep 27May 9 – Dec 23
Charlotte North CarolinaMar 9 – Jun 23, Aug 14 – Sep 23May 14 – Dec 18
Raleigh North CarolinaMar 10 – Jun 28, Aug 12 – Sep 23May 17 – Dec 19
Nashville TennesseeMar 10 – May 22, Aug 30 – Sep 19May 17 – Sep 6, Oct 23 – Dec 18
Tulsa OklahomaMar 10 – May 14, Sep 6 – Sep 20May 16 – Aug 29, Nov 2 – Dec 19
Seattle WashingtonMar 11 – Aug 28Jun 20 – Jan 1
Washington District of ColumbiaMar 13 – Jul 14, Aug 3 – Sep 14May 27 – Jan 2
Richmond VirginiaMar 13 – Jun 26, Aug 13 – Sep 18May 22 – Dec 19
Louisville KentuckyMar 13 – Sep 12May 25 – Dec 18
Oklahoma City OklahomaMar 14 – May 9, Sep 6 – Sep 20May 16 – Aug 24, Nov 1 – Dec 17
London EnglandMar 14 – Sep 2Jun 19 – Jan 5
Cardiff WalesMar 15 – Sep 2Jun 24 – Jan 9
Baltimore MarylandMar 16 – Jul 18, Jul 24 – Sep 13May 29 – Jan 5
Kansas City MissouriMar 16 – Jun 30, Aug 17 – Sep 6May 28 – Dec 17
Albuquerque New MexicoMar 16 – Apr 29, Aug 26 – Sep 8May 27 – Aug 15, Oct 21 – Dec 18
Bristol EnglandMar 16 – Aug 31Jun 25 – Jan 6
Vancouver British ColumbiaMar 17 – Aug 24Jun 21 – Dec 20
St. Louis MissouriMar 18 – Jul 3, Aug 13 – Sep 9May 27 – Dec 10
Manchester EnglandMar 18 – Aug 23Jun 25 – Dec 31
Salt Lake City UtahMar 19 – May 14Jun 10 – Aug 31
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaMar 22 – Sep 10Jun 4 – Dec 25
Dublin IrelandMar 23 – Aug 21Jul 3 – Dec 25
Belfast Northern IrelandMar 24 – Aug 15Jul 1 – Dec 22
Cincinnati OhioMar 26 – Sep 6Jun 3 – Dec 9
Indianapolis IndianaMar 26 – Sep 2Jun 6 – Dec 10
Columbus OhioMar 28 – Sep 2Jun 7 – Dec 11
New York New YorkMar 29 – Sep 8Jun 11 – Jan 4
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaMar 29 – Sep 1Jun 9 – Dec 12
Omaha NebraskaMar 29 – Aug 27Jun 9 – Dec 5
Birmingham EnglandMar 29 – Aug 18Jul 4 – Dec 25
Des Moines IowaMar 31 – Aug 26Jun 11 – Dec 4
Glasgow ScotlandApr 1 – Aug 10Jul 11 – Dec 18
Boise IdahoApr 3 – May 29Jun 18 – Sep 14
Cleveland OhioApr 5 – Aug 31Jun 16 – Dec 27
Chicago IllinoisApr 6 – Aug 27Jun 19 – Dec 15
Edinburgh ScotlandApr 6 – Aug 8Jul 16 – Dec 15
Spokane WashingtonApr 7 – Aug 12Jun 28 – Nov 29
Boston MassachusettsApr 9 – Aug 29Jun 21 – Dec 24
Detroit MichiganApr 9 – Aug 27Jun 20 – Dec 15
Minneapolis MinnesotaApr 12 – Aug 19Jun 20 – Dec 2
Denver ColoradoApr 13 – Jun 30, Aug 8 – Aug 23Jun 22 – Nov 22
Billings MontanaApr 13 – Jul 15Jun 29 – Oct 30
Milwaukee WisconsinApr 14 – Aug 22Jun 27 – Dec 13
Madison WisconsinApr 16 – Aug 20Jun 26 – Nov 24
Portland MaineApr 19 – Aug 19Jul 2 – Nov 29
Toronto OntarioApr 19 – Aug 22Jun 30 – Nov 23
Buffalo New YorkApr 20 – Aug 25Jun 30 – Dec 10
Fargo North DakotaApr 21 – Aug 11Jun 29 – Nov 14
Montreal QuebecApr 22 – Aug 17Jun 30 – Nov 23
Burlington VermontApr 23 – Aug 20Jul 4 – Nov 29
Ottawa OntarioApr 24 – Aug 15Jul 2 – Nov 16
Edmonton AlbertaMay 2 – Jul 23Jul 17 – Nov 3
Halifax Nova ScotiaMay 2 – Aug 18Jul 19 – Dec 1
Winnipeg ManitobaMay 3 – Aug 3Jul 10 – Nov 6
Calgary AlbertaMay 5 – Jul 23Jul 24 – Oct 25
Anchorage AlaskaMay 6 – Jul 8Jul 27 – Nov 13
Charleston South CarolinaAug 8 – Jul 6Jan 1 – Dec 31
Jacksonville FloridaAug 29 – Jun 15Oct 20 – Sep 30
Miami FloridaSep 6 – Jul 20Jan 1 – Dec 31
Sacramento CaliforniaSep 14 – May 8Nov 9 – Aug 23
New Orleans LouisianaSep 15 – May 6Nov 6 – Aug 21
Orlando FloridaSep 18 – May 8Nov 9 – Aug 23
Tampa FloridaSep 19 – May 28Nov 10 – Sep 12
Houston TexasSep 24 – Apr 24Nov 15 – Aug 9
Fresno CaliforniaSep 29 – Apr 19Dec 8 – Aug 4
Las Vegas NevadaOct 4 – Apr 5Dec 17 – Jul 21
Tucson ArizonaOct 12 – Mar 26Dec 14 – Jul 11
Phoenix ArizonaOct 21 – Mar 15Dec 24 – Jun 30
Hobart TasmaniaAug 4 – Mar 20Nov 22 – Jul 22
Canberra Australian Capital TerritorySep 4 – Mar 14Nov 26 – Jun 17
Sydney New South WalesJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Melbourne VictoriaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Brisbane QueenslandJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Perth Western AustraliaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Adelaide South AustraliaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Auckland New ZealandJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31

Other crops

TomatoesPeppersEggplantCucumbersZucchiniPumpkinsWatermelonsSweet cornGreen beansPeasLettuceSpinachKaleCabbageBroccoliBeetsRadishesOnionsGarlicPotatoesSwiss chardBasilCilantroParsley