One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant parsnip is to check out the USDA zone info for Kent.

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 bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Kent 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. Any later than that and your parsnip may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Kent the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Kent may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Kent you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your parsnip if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Kent

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 Kent

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