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 Stafford can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea 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 mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Stafford 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carrots indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Stafford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stafford and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Stafford you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your carrots if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stafford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Stafford

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