When to Plant Turnips in Watertown, MA

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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Watertown it's a good idea 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 are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until 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 Watertown 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Watertown. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Watertown is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Watertown you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your turnips if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Watertown

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