Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Chico it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant carrots.

Planting Calendar for Carrots

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

Since carrots do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant carrots and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Chico. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chico may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chico it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to protect your carrots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chico

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Chico

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