The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Walden can be reviewed to figure out when it's a good idea to plant parsnip.

Planting Calendar for Parsnip

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

Since parsnip do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Walden 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 grow to maturity. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Walden the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Walden may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Walden you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your parsnip if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Walden

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 Walden

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