The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when you can plant lettuce is to examine the USDA zone info for Fairbanks.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

Frost tolerance for lettuce:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Lettuce do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Fairbanks is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fairbanks the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -50°F.

Just be sure to remember 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 Fairbanks and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

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