One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant lettuce is to look at the USDA zone info for Tuscaloosa.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Lettuce are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Tuscaloosa 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 lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Tuscaloosa the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Tuscaloosa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Tuscaloosa you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your lettuce in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tuscaloosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Tuscaloosa

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