One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant parsnip is to use the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor.

Planting Calendar for Parsnip

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

Since parsnip are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Benton Harbor 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 fully mature. If you are starting your parsnip indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Benton Harbor. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Benton Harbor it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your parsnip in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton Harbor

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 Benton Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Benton Harbor.