When to plant · 7 plants

Root vegetables

Carrots, beets, potatoes and other crops you dig. Pick one for its dates in your town and how to grow it.

Planting order

When each one first goes in around Portland, starting indoors where that comes first. Colder towns run later.

Early spring: Radishes, Carrots, Beets, Turnips, Potatoes, Parsnips
Late spring: Sweet potatoes

Planting windows at a glance

Main planting window in five reference towns. Each plant's page has every town.

Plant	Portland	Seattle and Tacoma	Bend and Redmond	Spokane	Boise and Meridian
Radishes	Mar 1 – Apr 26	Mar 1 – Apr 26	Apr 28 – Jun 23	Apr 1 – May 27	Mar 20 – May 15
Carrots	Mar 15 – May 10	Mar 15 – May 10	May 12 – Jul 7	Apr 15 – Jun 10	Apr 1 – May 27
Beets	Mar 15 – May 10	Mar 15 – May 10	May 12 – Jul 7	Apr 15 – Jun 10	Apr 1 – May 27
Turnips	Mar 1 – Apr 12	Mar 1 – Apr 12	Apr 28 – Jun 9	Apr 1 – May 13	Mar 20 – May 1
Potatoes	Mar 15 – Apr 26	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 12 – Jun 23	Apr 15 – May 27	Apr 1 – May 13
Parsnips	Mar 15 – Apr 26	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 12 – Jun 23	Apr 15 – May 27	Apr 1 – May 13
Sweet potatoes	May 25 – Jun 15	May 25 – Jun 15	Jun 16 – Jul 7	May 30 – Jun 20	May 10–31

Growing root vegetables in the Northwest

Root crops want loose, stone-free soil that drains well. Heavy Northwest clay is the most common reason carrots and parsnips come out short or forked, so dig deeply and mix in compost, or grow them in a raised bed. Avoid fresh manure right before planting, which tends to make roots hairy and split.

Most root crops are sown straight into the garden, because they don't like being transplanted. Carrot and parsnip seed is slow to sprout in cool soil and the seedbed must stay damp the whole time, which is the hardest part of growing them. Thinning early, to the spacing on each plant's page, makes the difference between real roots and a tangle of pencils. Potatoes are the exception: they grow from seed potatoes, and soil heaped around the stems keeps the tubers from turning green.

Fall is a good second season. Carrots and beets sown in midsummer sweeten in cold weather, and in milder western gardens many can stay in the ground and be dug through the winter. Radishes are the quickest win, ready in about four weeks.

Common questions

When do I plant carrots in the Northwest?

From early spring, once the soil can be worked, until about midsummer for a fall and winter crop. Keep the seedbed moist; carrot seed can take two to three weeks to sprout in cool soil.

Can I leave root crops in the ground over winter?

West of the Cascades, carrots, parsnips and beets often hold in the ground into winter under a layer of mulch. Parsnips taste sweeter after frost. In colder eastern gardens, dig them before the ground freezes.

Why are my carrots forked or hairy?

Rocks, clods or fresh manure in the soil. Grow them in loose, stone-free soil or a raised bed, and use well-rotted compost instead of fresh manure.