Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Alton should be estimated 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.

Since turnips are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Alton 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. Starting your turnips indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Alton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alton and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Alton last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your turnips if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Alton

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