http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html According to this, by zip code I'm in 9a, but the color says 8b. I had planned on planting carrots in storage bins instead of our hard and dead ground soil. The problem is that I planned this two months ago and I got waylaid by some stuff, so I'm just now able to do it. Is it too late? (never done this before)
I too am in the 8b/9a area. It's (from my experience) not to late, it's too early. Carrots thrive in cool weather, when the soil temperatures are around 65 degrees F. For a fall carrot crop, plant them 8-10 weeks before the first expected hard frost in your area. Here is a very good site for "Interactive Plant, Tree and Gardening Maps and Data": http://www.plantmaps.com/ Also, Check with your local county agent, or Cooperative extension service. They'll should be in your local phone book or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_extension_service Fall/winter gardening in the 8 & 9 USDA zones has many advantages. Like, it's not hot, few, if any, bugs and many other things. Peace, poor_old_dad
According to that USDA zone map (which is incomplete IMO, because it's not just about how cold it gets, but also about how hot and how dry or wet it is, that's why I like Sunset West's zone maps) I'm solidly in between an 8a/8b zone, our coldest periods during winter may hit <15*F, but are usually >15*F. I don't see why not, but why don't you try to get that soil living again? Carrots are great for breaking up hard-packed soils, and they need to be able to send down a deep tap root. I plant carrots in successions, so that I have carrots throughout as long a season as possible. Also, they do very well in cool weather and I get better germination and survival rates when it's cooler. Another great crop for breaking up hard, dead soils is mustard. It's also a good trap crop. Then, I'll suggest including beans for their nitrogen-fixing abilities, though they do NOT like cool/cold weather at all. A super fast-growing cover crop that will give you edible greens is fenugreek. It germinates and grows amazingly fast. Or, if you have kids, go through your cupboards and pull out anything that seems like a seed, throw it outside and water it, see what happens. They love stuff like that.
Thanks for the advice. We moved in November and again in September, so they never did get planted. I'll put your advice to use next year, now that the space to grow is ours. (Before, we were living on my moms dirt and then into an apartment.)
