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

In Watertown you can determine when it's a good idea to plant turnips by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Turnips

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

It's not a good idea to plant turnips until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

In Watertown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

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 Watertown

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