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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant parsley is to refer to the USDA zone info for Alton.

Planting Calendar for Parsley

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

Parsley can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant parsley in Alton 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 parsley and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your parsley may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your parsley indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Alton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alton and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Alton you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your parsley in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Alton

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