When to Plant Turnips in Davenport, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when to plant turnips in Davenport 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.

You really shouldn't plant turnips until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant turnips
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant turnips
Probably not a good time to plant turnips

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Davenport 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. Any later than that and your turnips may not have a chance to really do well. 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

In Davenport the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Davenport is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Davenport last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your turnips in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Davenport

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 Davenport

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