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.

A way of estimating when you can plant turnips is to look at the USDA zone info for National City.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

Turnips do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in National City 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 turnips and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your turnips may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your turnips indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in National City. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for National City and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in National City last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your turnips if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for National City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

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

Plants to Grow in National City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for National City.