When to Plant Turnips

Sow turnips outside 1 to 4 weeks before your last frost, and again 6 to 10 weeks before your first fall frost for a fall crop.

Turnips at a glance

Sow outside: 1 to 4 weeks before your last frost
Fall sowing: 6 to 10 weeks before your first fall frost
Time to harvest: 40 to 60 days from sowing
Harvest lasts: about 4 weeks
Spacing: 9 per square foot
Frost: Takes hard frosts

Growing turnips

Turnips grow fast in cool weather from seed sown straight in the bed. Thin the seedlings so each root has room to swell. Fall sowings often give the sweetest roots, as the weather cools while they grow.

Dates by hardiness zone

Typical dates for each zone; your ZIP code gives your own.

When to plant turnips in each USDA hardiness zone
Zone	Sow	Sow for fall	Harvest
Zone 3a	Apr 30 – May 21	Jul 6 – Aug 3	Jun 9 – Jul 20 · Aug 15 – Oct 2
Zone 3b	Apr 19 – May 10	Jul 17 – Aug 14	May 29 – Jul 9 · Aug 26 – Oct 13
Zone 4a	Apr 14 – May 5	Jul 20 – Aug 17	May 24 – Jul 4 · Aug 29 – Oct 16
Zone 4b	Apr 10 – May 1	Jul 23 – Aug 20	May 20 – Jun 30 · Sep 1 – Oct 19
Zone 5a	Apr 5–26	Jul 27 – Aug 24	May 15 – Jun 25 · Sep 5 – Oct 23
Zone 5b	Apr 3–24	Aug 1–29	May 13 – Jun 23 · Sep 10 – Oct 28
Zone 6a	Apr 1–22	Aug 7 – Sep 4	May 11 – Jun 21 · Sep 16 – Nov 3
Zone 6b	Mar 26 – Apr 16	Aug 13 – Sep 10	May 5 – Jun 15 · Sep 22 – Nov 9
Zone 7a	Mar 19 – Apr 9	Aug 16 – Sep 13	Apr 28 – Jun 8 · Sep 25 – Nov 12
Zone 7b	Mar 8–29	Aug 23 – Sep 20	Apr 17 – May 28 · Oct 2 – Nov 19
Zone 8a	Mar 1–22	Aug 29 – Sep 26	Apr 10 – May 21 · Oct 8 – Nov 25
Zone 8b	Feb 17 – Mar 10	Sep 4 – Oct 2	Mar 29 – May 9 · Oct 14 – Dec 1
Zone 9a	Feb 2–23	Sep 17 – Oct 15	Mar 14 – Apr 24 · Oct 27 – Dec 14
Zone 9b	Jan 4–25	Oct 6 – Nov 3	Feb 13 – Mar 26 · Nov 15 – Jan 2
Zone 10a	Dec 27 – Jan 17	Oct 18 – Nov 15	Feb 5 – Mar 18 · Nov 27 – Jan 14
Zones 10b–11b	Frost is rare here, so grow turnips in the cooler months, from fall to early spring.