When to Plant Parsnip in Decatur, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. 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 Decatur can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's a good idea 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 a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant parsnip
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant parsnip
Probably not a good time to plant parsnip

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Decatur 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your parsnip indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Decatur the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Decatur is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Decatur last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your parsnip if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Decatur

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