Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant turnips is to use the USDA zone info for Defiance.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

You really shouldn't plant turnips until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Defiance 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. 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 has passed is on April 15 in Defiance. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Defiance and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Defiance there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your turnips in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Defiance

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 Defiance

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