One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Orinda can be used to determine when it's the best time 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.

Carrots do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Orinda 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 really do well. Starting your carrots indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Orinda. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Orinda is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Orinda last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your carrots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orinda

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Orinda

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