Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant turnips is to consult the USDA zone info for Mount Rainier.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

Frost tolerance for turnips:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant turnips until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Mount Rainier 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. If you wait any later than that and your turnips may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your turnips indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mount Rainier. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mount Rainier is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mount Rainier it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your turnips if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Rainier

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 Mount Rainier

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Rainier.