When to Plant Turnips in Colby, KS

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

The USDA zone info for Colby can be looked at to determine when it's possible 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.

Turnips are not cold tolerant which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Colby 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 really do well. If you are starting your turnips indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Colby. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Colby and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Colby you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your turnips if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Colby

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 Colby

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