When to Plant Turnips in Red Oak, IA

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.

The first opportunity to plant turnips in Red Oak can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

Since turnips do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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 Red Oak 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your turnips indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Red Oak. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Red Oak is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Red Oak last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your turnips if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Red Oak

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Red Oak

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Red Oak.