One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant parsnip in Indianapolis 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 tells us that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Indianapolis 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. If you wait any later than that and your parsnip may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Indianapolis the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Indianapolis is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Indianapolis there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your parsnip in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Indianapolis

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 Indianapolis

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