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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant turnips is to refer to the USDA zone info for Columbia.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

Since turnips require warm weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Columbia 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 really do well. Starting your turnips indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Columbia. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbia may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your turnips in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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