Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Mercer Island you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant parsnip by referring to 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.

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 Mercer Island 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mercer Island the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mercer Island is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mercer Island you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your parsnip in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mercer Island

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mercer Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mercer Island.