When to plant · 16 cities · zones 4b–6a

When to plant carrots in Wisconsin

Direct sow nantes carrot around Apr 20 — the Wisconsin statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of May 4 across 779 ZIP codes and 202 NOAA stations.

Apr 20Direct sowApr 12 – May 5 across the state
May 4Last spring frostmedian · 1 in 10 years after May 20
Jun 29First 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.

Wisconsin carrots, by step

Statewide median last frost May 4, first fall frost Oct 7, 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 20Jun 2970 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 Wisconsin's ZIP codes resolve to; 4 of 783 ZIPs have no datable freeze and are left out.

Carrots in Wisconsin, city by city

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

CityLast frostSowFirst harvest
Milwaukeezone 6aApr 26Apr 12Jun 21
Madisonzone 5aMay 1Apr 17Jun 26
Green Bayzone 5bMay 7Apr 23Jul 2
Kenoshazone 5bApr 28Apr 14Jun 23
Racinezone 6aApr 24Apr 10Jun 19
Appletonzone 5bMay 4Apr 20Jun 29
Eau Clairezone 4bMay 8Apr 24Jul 3
Waukeshazone 5bApr 30Apr 16Jun 25
Oshkoshzone 5bApr 24Apr 10Jun 19
Janesvillezone 5bApr 26Apr 12Jun 21
West Alliszone 5bApr 26Apr 12Jun 21
La Crossezone 5aApr 23Apr 9Jun 18
Sheboyganzone 6aMay 2Apr 18Jun 27
Wauwatosazone 5bApr 26Apr 12Jun 21
Fond du Laczone 5bMay 1Apr 17Jun 26
Brookfieldzone 5bApr 26Apr 12Jun 21

What Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin: questions

When should I plant carrots in Wisconsin?

Direct sow around Apr 20 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Apr 12 in the warmest tenth of Wisconsin's ZIP codes to May 5 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 20 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.

When is the last frost in Wisconsin?

The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is May 4. In the warmest tenth of Wisconsin's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Apr 26; in the coldest tenth, on or after May 19.

When will Wisconsin carrots be ready to harvest?

Nantes Carrot planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 29: 70 days from sow.

More for Wisconsin

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