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.

The USDA zone info for Council Bluffs can be reviewed to determine when it's a good idea to plant turnips.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

Turnips do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Council Bluffs 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. If you wait 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Council Bluffs. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Council Bluffs you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your turnips in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Council Bluffs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Council Bluffs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Council Bluffs.