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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant turnips in Bessemer by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

It's a bad idea to plant turnips until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Bessemer 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your turnips indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Bessemer. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bessemer may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bessemer it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your turnips if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bessemer

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