The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant carrots by referring to the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

Planting Calendar for Carrots

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

Carrots tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Santa Maria 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your carrots indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Maria. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your carrots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

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 Santa Maria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Maria.