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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Modesto it's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant lettuce.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Lettuce can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Modesto 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 lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Modesto the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Modesto and it is different every year. Half of the time in Modesto last frost occurs after February 15 so always be ready to cover your lettuce if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Modesto

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Modesto

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