Georgia · zones 7b–9a
When to plant carrots in Georgia.
Sow between Feb 10 to Mar 15 in a typical year, keyed to Georgia's median last frost around Mar 20. A second, fall sowing fits Aug 15 to Sep 10. Dates below are state medians; your ZIP code shifts them by days to weeks.
The 2026 windows
Carrots dates for a typical Georgia season.
Direct sow
Feb 10 to Mar 15
Keyed to the ~Mar 20 last frost. Sow 0.25" deep, 2" apart.
Fall round
Aug 15 to Sep 10
Counted back from the ~Nov 10 first frost.
Harvest
~68 days later
~0.2 lb per plant over ~2 weeks.
Georgia spans more than one climate: Zone 8 is the most common zone, but the state runs 7b to 9a. That's why the planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not your zone: mountain and coastal gardens in the same state can be three weeks apart.
Georgia growing notes
Georgia carrots need a different plan north and south of the Fall Line.
Coastal Plain sand versus Piedmont clay
South Georgia's Coastal Plain, the Tifton sandy loam belt, is close to ideal carrot ground: deep, loose, and fast-draining with almost no prep needed beyond breaking up the top several inches. A long, tapered type like Imperator or Nantes will run its full length straight down through that soil without hitting resistance.
North of the Fall Line, Georgia's Piedmont red clay is a different problem entirely. Clay compacts as it dries and physically blocks a long root from growing straight, producing forked or stubby carrots no matter how carefully you sow. Piedmont gardeners get better results switching root shape instead of fighting the soil: a half-long Chantenay or Danvers type shoulders its way through clay that stops a full-length carrot cold.
Two windows, and the fall one wins on flavor
Georgia carrots get both a spring and a fall window, and gardeners who only plant once should plant the fall round. Carrots maturing into cooler weather convert starch to sugar as they finish sizing, and Georgia's fall stretches long and mild enough for that conversion to really show in the final flavor, more so than a carrot rushed to size in rising spring heat.
Carrot seed takes 2 to 3 weeks to germinate, and a single dry afternoon in that window can end the whole sowing before it starts. A midsummer sowing for the fall crop is the hardest to keep damp, since Georgia sun crusts bare soil within a day; a strip of floating row cover laid directly over the row, checked daily and pulled the moment green shows, keeps the seed bed from drying out between waterings.
The caterpillar you should probably relocate, not kill
Parsleyworm, a green and black striped caterpillar with an orange forked gland it flashes when disturbed, feeds on carrot tops as readily as it does on parsley and dill, and it shows up on Georgia carrot foliage most summers. It is also the larval stage of the black swallowtail butterfly, so plenty of Georgia gardeners move it to a sacrificial dill or parsley plant nearby rather than killing it outright, since a few chewed carrot tops rarely cost you the root underneath.
Aphids are the more consequential pest, clustering on new foliage in warm humid stretches and slowing root growth if a colony goes unchecked for more than a couple of weeks; a firm water spray every few days keeps small colonies from building into a real problem. Carrot rust fly is not a pest Georgia growers need to spend time planning around; aphids and parsleyworm are the two that actually show up in a Georgia carrot bed most summers.
In Georgia: watch for
The pests that find carrots here.
A middle-length season, about 235 frost-free days, means carrot overlaps carrot rust fly for a stretch each summer. Check plants every week or two and treat early.
Rusty tunnels in the roots and stunted tops.
Organic fix: Cover the row; rotate away from last year's carrots.
Big green-and-black striped caterpillars on the foliage.
Organic fix: Handpick (or leave for swallowtails); Bt if heavy.
Brown spots ringed in yellow on the oldest leaves first, darkening until the tops look scorched.
Organic fix: Water at the base rather than overhead, turn under old carrot tops, and leave 2 years between carrot crops.
Your season math: Georgia gives carrots about 235 frost-free days, and it needs roughly 68 days to a first harvest. That fits about 8 re-sown rounds across the season, so you can keep it coming instead of picking once.
Planting carrots in Georgia: questions
When should I plant carrots in Georgia?+
In a typical Georgia year, sow carrots between Feb 10 to Mar 15, keyed to the state's median last frost around Mar 20. There's also a fall window: Aug 15 to Sep 10. Your exact dates shift with your ZIP code and microclimate.
What USDA zone is Georgia?+
Georgia spans zones 7b–9a, mostly zone 8. But frost dates, not zones, set planting time. The free planner uses your ZIP code's actual frost dates.
How many carrots plants do I need?+
Depends who you're feeding. The crop page has exact counts per household size, or the free planner does the math for your family in about 60 seconds.