When to plant · 35 cities · zones 5b–7a

When to plant carrots in Massachusetts

Direct sow nantes carrot around Apr 13 — the Massachusetts statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Apr 27 across 539 ZIP codes and 72 NOAA stations.

Apr 13Direct sowMar 30 – Apr 23 across the state
Apr 27Last spring frostmedian · 1 in 10 years after May 11
Jun 22First 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.

Massachusetts carrots, by step

Statewide median last frost Apr 27, first fall frost Oct 14, 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 13Jun 2270 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 Massachusetts's ZIP codes resolve to.

Carrots in Massachusetts, city by city

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

CityLast frostSowFirst harvest
Bostonzone 7aApr 4Mar 21May 30
Worcesterzone 6aApr 23Apr 9Jun 18
Springfieldzone 6aMay 3Apr 19Jun 28
Cambridgezone 6bApr 19Apr 5Jun 14
Lowellzone 6bApr 30Apr 16Jun 25
Brocktonzone 6bApr 22Apr 8Jun 17
Lynnzone 7aApr 25Apr 11Jun 20
Quincyzone 7aApr 25Apr 11Jun 20
New Bedfordzone 7aApr 29Apr 15Jun 24
Fall Riverzone 7aApr 29Apr 15Jun 24
Newtonzone 6bApr 19Apr 5Jun 14
Lawrencezone 6bApr 13Mar 30Jun 8
Somervillezone 7aApr 4Mar 21May 30
Framinghamzone 6bApr 26Apr 12Jun 21
Haverhillzone 6aMay 1Apr 17Jun 26
Maldenzone 6bApr 4Mar 21May 30
Walthamzone 6bApr 28Apr 14Jun 23
Tauntonzone 6bApr 22Apr 8Jun 17
Reverezone 7aApr 4Mar 21May 30
Weymouthzone 6bApr 25Apr 11Jun 20
Medfordzone 6bApr 4Mar 21May 30
Peabodyzone 6bApr 24Apr 10Jun 19
Chicopeezone 6aMay 3Apr 19Jun 28
Methuenzone 6bApr 13Mar 30Jun 8
Everettzone 7aApr 4Mar 21May 30
Barnstablezone 7aApr 16Apr 2Jun 11
Attleborozone 6bApr 27Apr 13Jun 22
Salemzone 7aApr 25Apr 11Jun 20
Leominsterzone 6aApr 29Apr 15Jun 24
Woburnzone 6bApr 25Apr 11Jun 20
Beverlyzone 6bMay 4Apr 20Jun 29
Pittsfieldzone 5bMay 5Apr 21Jun 30
Marlboroughzone 6bMay 2Apr 18Jun 27
Fitchburgzone 6aApr 29Apr 15Jun 24
Amherstzone 6aMay 5Apr 21Jun 30

What Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts: questions

When should I plant carrots in Massachusetts?

Direct sow around Apr 13 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Mar 30 in the warmest tenth of Massachusetts's ZIP codes to Apr 23 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 11 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.

When is the last frost in Massachusetts?

The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Apr 27. In the warmest tenth of Massachusetts's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Apr 13; in the coldest tenth, on or after May 7.

When will Massachusetts carrots be ready to harvest?

Nantes Carrot planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 22: 70 days from sow.

More for Massachusetts

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