When to plant · 13 cities · zones 6b–7b

When to plant carrots in Pennsylvania

Direct sow nantes carrot around Apr 13 — the Pennsylvania statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of Apr 27 across 1,833 ZIP codes and 179 NOAA stations.

Apr 13Direct sowMar 31 – Apr 26 across the state
Apr 27Last spring frostmedian · 1 in 10 years after May 15
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.

Pennsylvania carrots, by step

Statewide median last frost Apr 27, first fall frost Oct 20, 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 Pennsylvania's ZIP codes resolve to.

Carrots in Pennsylvania, city by city

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

CityLast frostSowFirst harvest
Philadelphiazone 7bMar 30Mar 16May 25
Pittsburghzone 6bApr 18Apr 4Jun 13
Allentownzone 7aApr 20Apr 6Jun 15
Readingzone 7aApr 14Mar 31Jun 9
Eriezone 7aApr 26Apr 12Jun 21
Bethlehemzone 7aApr 20Apr 6Jun 15
Scrantonzone 6bApr 23Apr 9Jun 18
Lancasterzone 7aApr 19Apr 5Jun 14
Harrisburgzone 7aApr 15Apr 1Jun 10
Yorkzone 7aApr 26Apr 12Jun 21
Wilkes-Barrezone 7aApr 23Apr 9Jun 18
Altoonazone 6bApr 25Apr 11Jun 20
State Collegezone 6bApr 20Apr 6Jun 15

What Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania: questions

When should I plant carrots in Pennsylvania?

Direct sow around Apr 13 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Mar 31 in the warmest tenth of Pennsylvania's ZIP codes to Apr 26 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 15 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.

When is the last frost in Pennsylvania?

The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is Apr 27. In the warmest tenth of Pennsylvania's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Apr 14; in the coldest tenth, on or after May 10.

When will Pennsylvania carrots be ready to harvest?

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

More for Pennsylvania

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