One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of figuring out when to plant romaine lettuce is to check out the USDA zone info for Cortland.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

Frost tolerance for romaine lettuce:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Romaine lettuce are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in Cortland is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant romaine lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your romaine lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cortland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cortland and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Cortland there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your romaine lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cortland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Cortland

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