When to Plant Parsnip in Zone 2a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

You can figure out when you can plant parsnip in Zone 2a by looking at the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Parsnip

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

Since parsnip are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant parsnip
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant parsnip
Probably not a good time to plant parsnip

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Zone 2a is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant parsnip and expect a good harvest is probably August. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 2a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -50°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 2a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 2a last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your parsnip if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-50°F
Highest Expected Low-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 2a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2a.