When to Plant Parsnip in Zone 3a

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Zone 3a you will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant parsnip.


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 do well in moderate 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 3a is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your parsnip may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Zone 3a. You can expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 3a is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 3a you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your parsnip in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.