One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 Meridian you can determine when you can plant turnips by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

Turnips are not cold tolerant which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Meridian 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 the last frost is on April 15 in Meridian. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Meridian may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Meridian last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your turnips if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Meridian

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Meridian

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