One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant turnips is to look at the USDA zone info for Grimes.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

Frost tolerance for turnips:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Turnips require warm weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Grimes 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 turnips and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your turnips may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your turnips indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Grimes the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Grimes is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Grimes last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your turnips if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grimes

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Grimes

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