Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Smithville you can estimate when to plant romaine lettuce by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in Smithville 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 fully mature. Starting your romaine lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Smithville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Smithville is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Smithville last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your romaine lettuce in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Smithville

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