One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Richmond should be looked at to figure out when it's possible to plant turnips.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

Frost tolerance for turnips:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since turnips require warm weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Richmond 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your turnips may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your turnips indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Richmond. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your turnips if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

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