The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant carrots is to examine the USDA zone info for Zone 6a.

Planting Calendar for Carrots

Frost tolerance for carrots:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since carrots are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Zone 6a 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. If you wait any later than that and your carrots may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your carrots indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Zone 6a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 6a may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 6a last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your carrots if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 6a

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 Zone 6a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 6a.