One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Hartford should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time 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.

You can plant parsnip just a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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

The last month that you can plant parsnip and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your parsnip may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hartford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hartford is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hartford there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your parsnip in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hartford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Hartford

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