Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant turnips in Iowa City by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

Turnips do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Iowa City 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 few weeks earlier by starting your turnips indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Iowa City. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Iowa City is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Iowa City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your turnips in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

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 Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.