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.

The first chance to plant carrots in Oak Forest should be estimated by reviewing 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.

You can plant carrots a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Oak Forest 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. Any later than that and your carrots may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your carrots indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Oak Forest. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Oak Forest is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Forest you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your carrots if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Forest

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 Oak Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Forest.