One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Bellwood you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant carrots by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Carrots

Frost tolerance for carrots:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Carrots do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Bellwood is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant carrots and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your carrots may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carrots indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bellwood. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Bellwood is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bellwood last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your carrots in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bellwood

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Bellwood

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bellwood.