When to Plant Turnips in Riverside, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Riverside it's possible to determine when to plant turnips.


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 you really should wait until after the last frost has passed 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 Riverside 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. Starting your turnips indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Riverside. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Riverside may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Riverside it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your turnips if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverside

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 Riverside

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