When to Plant Carrots in Watertown, SD

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant carrots in Watertown can be estimated by using 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 just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant carrots
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant carrots
Probably not a good time to plant carrots

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

The last month that you can plant carrots and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your carrots may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your carrots indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Watertown. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Watertown is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Watertown you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your carrots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Watertown

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