Carrots
Dates below are counted from the average last spring frost or the average first fall frost. Enter a ZIP in the calendar for NOAA 1991–2020 station averages, or pick a zone and use the zone table.
When to plant
Soil and site
Deep, loose, sandy loam free of rocks. Skip fresh compost or manure — rich clumps cause forked, hairy roots.
Seedlings
Germination is slow (1–3 weeks) and the bed must never dry out. A board or burlap over the row until sprouts appear keeps moisture in — check daily.
In the garden
Thin ruthlessly to 2–3 in; crowded carrots stay skinny. Rows 12–18 in apart.
Picking
Fall carrots kissed by frost are the sweetest of the year. Mulch deeply and harvest straight through winter.
Harvest
First harvest is about 60–75 days after sowing or planting outdoors. The picking window often runs about 8 weeks.
Pull when the shoulder is the size you want. Fall carrots are sweeter after frost, and a deep mulch lets you harvest into winter.
Preserving
USDA's tested method is pressure canning for sliced or diced carrots. Use the linked tables. Do not boil-water can plain carrots.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Carrots, sliced or diced →Freeze sliced carrots with the NCHFP method.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Freezing carrots →Dry slices with the NCHFP drying guide, then condition them before packing.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Drying fruits and vegetables →Canning, pickling, and fermenting notes here are summaries of tested USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation methods. Times, pressures, and amounts live only on those pages. This site does not publish home-invented processing times.
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Dates by zone
These pages turn the same frost offsets into calendar dates for each zone the calendar covers.