Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Traverse City you can determine when it's possible to plant parsnip by referring to 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.

You can plant parsnip a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Traverse City 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 few weeks earlier by starting your parsnip indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Traverse City. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Traverse City is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Traverse City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your parsnip if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Traverse City

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 Traverse City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Traverse City.