One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for El Monte it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant romaine lettuce.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

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

Since romaine lettuce are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in El Monte is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 October. Any later than that and your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your romaine lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in El Monte. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for El Monte is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in El Monte you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your romaine lettuce if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Monte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Monte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Monte.