One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Grass Valley you can estimate when to plant parsnip by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Parsnip

Frost tolerance for parsnip:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Parsnip are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Grass Valley is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant parsnip and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your parsnip may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your parsnip indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Grass Valley the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Grass Valley may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Grass Valley you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your parsnip in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grass Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Grass Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grass Valley.