One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Anacortes should be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant turnips.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

You really shouldn't plant turnips until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant turnips in Anacortes 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 fully mature. If you are starting your turnips indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Anacortes the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Anacortes is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Anacortes it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your turnips if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Anacortes

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Anacortes

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