Turnip Cover Crop is a cover crop — grown to build and protect the soil rather than for a harvest of its own. It's hardy across USDA zones 2 through 10. Its late spring flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees.
Turnip Cover Crop — the short answer
Turnip Cover Crop: grown in zones 2–10, full sun, pH 5–7, about 60 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 2–10
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5–7
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 60 days
- SARE; USDA-NRCS
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
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Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether turnip cover crop actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score turnip cover crop against your land's real conditions.
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What Turnip Cover Crop is
Turnip Cover Crop grows as an annual or biennial. It blooms in late spring.
How to grow Turnip Cover Crop
Turnip Cover Crop grows in USDA zones 2 through 10. Turnip Cover Crop does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 7, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,100 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 40 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
2-10
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5 - 7
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
50°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Days to Maturity
60 days
Turnip cover crop; biofumigant + tillage radish substitute.
SARE; USDA-NRCS
GDD Required
1100+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
40+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant turnip cover crop in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Turnip Cover Crop prefers pH 5 to 7 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Turn it in before it seeds
Cut turnip cover crop down or turn it into the soil before it sets seed, while the growth is still green — that's when it returns the most to the ground.
Where Turnip Cover Crop thrives
On hardiness alone, turnip cover crop grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 2 through 10) is unusually wide. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 2–10 spans average winter lows from -50°F to 40°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 47 outright and splits 4 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 2–10·Where Turnip Cover Crop growsOpen map →
Continental US shown — Alaska and US Pacific territories sit outside the federal map's polygon dataset.
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Turnip Cover Crop stands, state by state
Turnip Cover Crop is rated for zones 2–10 — a cold floor USDA puts at -50 to -40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 47 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 4 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 2–10
47 states
3 of 47 shown
The line runs through
4 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Florida · zones 8b-12a
3 of 4 shown
Turnip Cover Crop’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Turnip Cover Crop
Growing guides for turnip cover crop
In rotation planning, turnip cover crop counts as a Brassica — beds recover best when brassica crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — turnip cover crop isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Turnip Cover Crop offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Your land is one point inside Turnip Cover Crop's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Turnip Cover Crop will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether turnip cover crop actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Turnip Cover Crop
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Turnip Cover Crop in my zone?
Turnip Cover Crop grows in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 10 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Turnip Cover Crop?
Most growers plant turnip cover crop after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 40-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Turnip Cover Crop need?
Turnip Cover Crop needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Turnip Cover Crop need?
Turnip Cover Crop prefers soil pH 5 to 7, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Turnip Cover Crop attract pollinators?
Yes — turnip cover crop's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees. (Source: Pollinator Partnership.)
Is Turnip Cover Crop safe for pets?
Turnip Cover Crop is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)
Keep exploring Turnip Cover Crop
Turnip Cover Crop state by state
Every state turnip cover crop's zone reaches — 17 link straight to that state's turnip cover crop growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.