One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Mequon you can determine when it's the best time 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.

Parsnip do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Mequon is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mequon it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your parsnip in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mequon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Mequon

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