One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Alamosa can be looked at to determine when to plant parsnip.

Planting Calendar for Parsnip

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

Since parsnip are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Alamosa is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant parsnip and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your parsnip may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Alamosa. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Alamosa is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alamosa you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your parsnip if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alamosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Alamosa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Alamosa.