One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Santa Monica you can estimate when it's possible to plant turnips by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

Since turnips are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Santa Monica 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your turnips indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Santa Monica. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Monica is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Monica you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your turnips if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

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 Santa Monica

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Monica.