One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 the best time to plant turnips is to look at the USDA zone info for South Portland.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

Frost tolerance for turnips:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Turnips require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in South Portland 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your turnips indoors.

Last Frost Date

In South Portland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Portland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Portland there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your turnips in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Portland

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 South Portland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Portland.