One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A common way of estimating when to plant broccoli is to examine the USDA zone info for Carrboro.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Broccoli tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Carrboro 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your broccoli may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your broccoli indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carrboro. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Carrboro is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carrboro last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your broccoli in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carrboro

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Carrboro

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