One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant parsnip is to check out the USDA zone info for Shenandoah.

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 just 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 Shenandoah 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. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Shenandoah. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Shenandoah may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Shenandoah last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your parsnip if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shenandoah

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 Shenandoah

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