One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Ithaca you can estimate when to plant turnips by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

You can not plant turnips until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Ithaca 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 little bit earlier by starting your turnips indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ithaca is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ithaca you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your turnips in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ithaca

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 Ithaca

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