Turnip · Bitlis, Bitlis, Turkey

When to plant turnips in Bitlis

Main outdoor window

27 Mar - 10 Apr

A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

24 April

In Bitlis, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

6-21 May

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Bitlis

Download these planting dates (.ics)

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Sow for autumn

2-23 Aug

Counting back 69 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.

Sow direct

27 Mar - 10 Apr

Four weeks before your last frost.

Harvest

6-21 May

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 21 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.
Frost tolerance
Hardy
Damaged below
-8°C (17.6°F)
Days to maturity
40–55
Min soil temp
4.5°C (40.1°F)
Spacing
10 cm
Sowing depth
12 mm (0.5 in)
Sun
Full

Turnips through the year

Against the frost risk in Bitlis

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Autumn sowing Sow direct Harvest Today
Open My Garden

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Bitlis

April has the highest average precipitation (88 mm); August has the lowest (3 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 83 mm
Feb 83 mm
Mar 88 mm
Apr 88 mm
May 58 mm
Jun 16 mm
Jul 6 mm
Aug 3 mm
Sep 11 mm
Oct 56 mm
Nov 62 mm
Dec 84 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Bitlis

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January -9.1°C (15.6°F) -0.5°C (31.2°F) 30.7
February -7.5°C (18.5°F) 1.1°C (33.9°F) 27.3
March -2.3°C (27.8°F) 6.1°C (43°F) 22.7
April 2.4°C (36.3°F) 12.4°C (54.4°F) 6.9
May 7°C (44.6°F) 18.2°C (64.8°F) 0.2
June 11.9°C (53.4°F) 26.2°C (79.2°F) 0.0
July 16.1°C (61°F) 32.3°C (90.1°F) 0.0
August 16.7°C (62.1°F) 32.3°C (90.2°F) 0.0
September 12.1°C (53.7°F) 26.3°C (79.4°F) 0.0
October 6.4°C (43.4°F) 18.1°C (64.6°F) 1.7
November -0.4°C (31.3°F) 9.6°C (49.2°F) 15.6
December -5.6°C (22°F) 2.8°C (37°F) 28.2

For turnips, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing turnips for Bitlis

  • April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 88 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant turnips

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

  • Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 4.5°C (40.1°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
  • Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
  • Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.

Choose roots, greens or both before setting spacing

Sow directly into a prepared, moist seedbed and thin promptly. Keep growth steady because drought and delayed harvest can make roots coarse.

Pull a sample when it reaches the intended eating size. Small repeated sowings reduce the chance of a whole row becoming large and woody before you can use it.

What to record this season

Which root size gave a tender crop before woodiness developed? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: RHS turnips growing guide . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

The RHS guide is written for UK growing conditions. Use its cultivation advice with local cultivar and seasonal guidance; its calendar months are not worldwide recommendations.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Sow directly into a prepared, moist seedbed and thin promptly. Keep growth steady because drought and delayed harvest can make roots coarse.

Cold tolerance varies with cultivar, plant age, acclimatisation and the duration of a freeze. A plant surviving frost does not mean its leaves, heads, flowers or developing crop will remain undamaged. Check the forecast and the variety's local advice.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Turnips are timed for direct sowing 4 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Bitlis.

The calendar also applies a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. Where that estimate is later than the frost-based date, it delays the window. Soil in your own garden can warm earlier or later; a thermometer at sowing depth is a better final check. Cold, wet conditions can slow germination and increase decay risk.

The median frost-free season here is 191 days, against 40 to 55 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Bitlis →

Growing turnips in Bitlis

Can I grow turnips in Bitlis?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 88 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant turnips in Bitlis?

Aim for 27 Mar - 10 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 9-23 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When might turnips be ready to harvest in Bitlis?

The estimated period is 6-21 May, based on 40 to 55 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will turnips tolerate?

Cold tolerance varies with cultivar, plant age, acclimatisation and the duration of a freeze. A plant surviving frost does not mean its leaves, heads, flowers or developing crop will remain undamaged. Check the forecast and the variety's local advice.