One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant carrots by using the USDA zone info for Bristol.

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 means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Bristol 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 really do well. If you are starting your carrots indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bristol. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Bristol is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Bristol you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your carrots if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Bristol

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