One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Lancaster you can estimate when to plant parsnip by looking at 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 tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Lancaster 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 fully mature. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Lancaster. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lancaster is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Lancaster you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your parsnip if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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