One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In Dowagiac you can estimate when to plant parsnip by using 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 can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Dowagiac 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your parsnip indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dowagiac. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Dowagiac is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dowagiac you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your parsnip in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dowagiac

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 Dowagiac

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