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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Athens you will be able to estimate when 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Athens 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Athens. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Athens is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Athens last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your carrots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Athens

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