When to plant · 11 cities · zones 8a–9a

When to plant carrots in Alabama

Direct sow nantes carrot around Mar 7 — the Alabama statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Mar 21 across 656 ZIP codes and 126 NOAA stations.

Mar 7Direct sowFeb 18 – Mar 21 across the state
Mar 21Last spring frostmedian · 1 in 10 years after Apr 9
May 16First harvest70 days from sow

The rule: Direct sow two weeks before the last frost and keep the top half-inch of soil damp for the 14–21 days it takes to germinate.

Alabama carrots, by step

Statewide median last frost Mar 21, first fall frost Nov 10, 2027 season. Each cultivar's own indoor lead time and days to maturity, same engine as the Plan Builder.

CultivarStart indoorsSowFirst harvestDays
Nantes CarrotScarlet NantesDirect sowMar 7May 1670 from sow

Tight means first harvest lands within two weeks of the median first fall frost. Statewide dates are the ZIP-weighted median of every NOAA 1991–2020 station Alabama's ZIP codes resolve to.

Carrots in Alabama, city by city

Nantes Carrot, scheduled from each city's nearest NOAA station — the same dates as its frost page.

CityLast frostSowFirst harvest
Huntsvillezone 8aMar 24Mar 10May 19
Mobilezone 9aFeb 21Feb 7Apr 18
Birminghamzone 8aMar 21Mar 7May 16
Montgomeryzone 8bMar 4Feb 18Apr 29
Tuscaloosazone 8bMar 18Mar 4May 13
Hooverzone 8aMar 19Mar 5May 14
Auburnzone 8bMar 13Feb 27May 8
Dothanzone 9aMar 1Feb 15Apr 26
Madisonzone 8aMar 24Mar 10May 19
Decaturzone 8aMar 26Mar 12May 21
Florencezone 8aMar 27Mar 13May 22

What Alabama carrots need

SeedsThe cultivar decides the sauce. Everything downstream is damage control.
  • Scarlet Nantes Carrot Seed

    The carrot that makes a fermented habanero sauce work. It brings sweetness and body so the sauce has texture without thickener and heat without being one-dimensional.

StartSoil temperature and light intensity, indoors, weeks before your frost date.
  • Organic Seed Starter Potting MixMust have

    Seed-starting mix is not potting soil with a nicer label — it is finer, lighter, and low in nutrients on purpose, because a seedling's first roots want air and moisture, not fertiliser.

GrowRoot volume, nutrition and structure. Where most home crops actually fail.
  • Ocean Forest Potting SoilMust have

    Pre-charged with enough nutrition to carry a transplant for its first month without feeding, which is exactly the window when most container plants stall.

  • 5-Gallon Fabric Grow Bags, 5-Pack

    Fabric pots air-prune roots and drain faster than a plastic pot can, which is the entire reason container tomatoes fail. Five gallons is the honest minimum for a pepper; a tomato wants ten.

  • Rapitest Soil Test Kit

    In-ground growers are guessing until they test. pH outside 6.0–6.8 locks nutrients out no matter how much fertiliser you add, and no amount of feeding fixes that.

  • 3-in-1 Soil Moisture / Light / pH Tester

    Used for one thing — is the root zone actually dry six inches down — it prevents both halves of the most common container failure. Ignore the pH scale on it entirely.

HarvestTiming, handling, and weighing what you actually got.
  • Garden Harvest Basket with Tool Caddy

    A harvest basket that doubles as a colander means the hose rinse happens in the garden, and the dirt stays outside. On a 20-pound tomato day that is a genuine time saving.

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Carrots in Alabama: questions

When should I plant carrots in Alabama?

Direct sow around Mar 7 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Feb 18 in the warmest tenth of Alabama's ZIP codes to Mar 21 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from Apr 9 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.

When is the last frost in Alabama?

The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Mar 21. In the warmest tenth of Alabama's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Mar 4; in the coldest tenth, on or after Apr 4.

When will Alabama carrots be ready to harvest?

Nantes Carrot planted on the statewide date is ready around May 16: 70 days from sow.

More for Alabama

Carrots in every state → · Alabama frost dates → · How frost-date math works →