One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant parsnip is to look at the USDA zone info for Patterson.

Planting Calendar for Parsnip

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

Parsnip do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant parsnip and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your parsnip may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your parsnip indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Patterson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Patterson is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Patterson it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your parsnip in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Patterson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Patterson

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