One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In San Jose you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant turnips by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

It's not a good idea to plant turnips until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in San Jose 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 turnips and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your turnips may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your turnips indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In San Jose the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Jose and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in San Jose it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your turnips in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in San Jose

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Jose.