When to plant · 12 cities · zones 6b–9a

When to plant carrots in Oregon

Direct sow nantes carrot around Mar 28 — the Oregon statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Apr 11 across 398 ZIP codes and 155 NOAA stations.

Mar 28Direct sowFeb 23 – May 13 across the state
Apr 11Last spring frostmedian · 1 in 10 years after May 3
Jun 6First 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.

Oregon carrots, by step

Statewide median last frost Apr 11, first fall frost Oct 30, 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 28Jun 670 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 Oregon's ZIP codes resolve to; 30 of 428 ZIPs have no datable freeze and are left out.

Carrots in Oregon, city by city

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

CityLast frostSowFirst harvest
Portlandzone 8bFeb 25Feb 11Apr 22
Salemzone 8bApr 3Mar 20May 29
Eugenezone 8bApr 11Mar 28Jun 6
Greshamzone 9aMar 16Mar 2May 11
Hillsborozone 8bApr 16Apr 2Jun 11
Bendzone 6bJun 6May 23Aug 1
Beavertonzone 9aFeb 11Jan 28Apr 8
Medfordzone 8bApr 8Mar 25Jun 3
Corvalliszone 8bApr 17Apr 3Jun 12
Springfieldzone 8bApr 11Mar 28Jun 6
Tigardzone 9aApr 1Mar 18May 27
Albanyzone 8bApr 17Apr 3Jun 12

What Oregon 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 Oregon: questions

When should I plant carrots in Oregon?

Direct sow around Mar 28 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Feb 23 in the warmest tenth of Oregon's ZIP codes to May 13 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 3 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.

When is the last frost in Oregon?

The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Apr 11. In the warmest tenth of Oregon's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Mar 9; in the coldest tenth, on or after May 27.

When will Oregon carrots be ready to harvest?

Nantes Carrot planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 6: 70 days from sow.

More for Oregon

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