Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 9a should be reviewed 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 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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carrots in Zone 9a 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. 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

In Zone 9a the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 9a is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 9a you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your carrots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

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 Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.