When to plant · 10 cities · zones 6a–7a

When to plant carrots in Kansas

Direct sow nantes carrot around Apr 3 — the Kansas statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Apr 17 across 692 ZIP codes and 179 NOAA stations.

Apr 3Direct sowMar 25 – Apr 14 across the state
Apr 17Last spring frostmedian · 1 in 10 years after May 1
Jun 12First 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.

Kansas carrots, by step

Statewide median last frost Apr 17, first fall frost Oct 22, 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 sowApr 3Jun 1270 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 Kansas's ZIP codes resolve to.

Carrots in Kansas, city by city

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

CityLast frostSowFirst harvest
Wichitazone 7aApr 11Mar 28Jun 6
Overland Parkzone 6bApr 10Mar 27Jun 5
Kansas Cityzone 6bApr 16Apr 2Jun 11
Olathezone 6bApr 13Mar 30Jun 8
Topekazone 6bApr 12Mar 29Jun 7
Lawrencezone 6bApr 12Mar 29Jun 7
Shawneezone 6bApr 16Apr 2Jun 11
Lenexazone 6bApr 10Mar 27Jun 5
Manhattanzone 6aApr 16Apr 2Jun 11
Salinazone 6bApr 18Apr 4Jun 13

What Kansas 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 Kansas: questions

When should I plant carrots in Kansas?

Direct sow around Apr 3 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Mar 25 in the warmest tenth of Kansas's ZIP codes to Apr 14 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 1 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.

When is the last frost in Kansas?

The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Apr 17. In the warmest tenth of Kansas's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Apr 8; in the coldest tenth, on or after Apr 28.

When will Kansas carrots be ready to harvest?

Nantes Carrot planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 12: 70 days from sow.

More for Kansas

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