When to Plant Turnips in Big Rapids, MI

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when you can plant turnips by referring to the USDA zone info for Big Rapids.


Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

You should not plant turnips until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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 Big Rapids 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your turnips indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Big Rapids. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Rapids is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Big Rapids there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your turnips if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Big Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Rapids.