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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant parsnip is to refer to the USDA zone info for Emporia.

Planting Calendar for Parsnip

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

Parsnip are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Emporia 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. If you are starting your parsnip indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Emporia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Emporia is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Emporia you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your parsnip in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Emporia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Emporia

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