When to Plant Lettuce in Oakland, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Oakland can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.


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 a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lettuce
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lettuce
Probably not a good time to plant lettuce

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Oakland 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Oakland. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oakland and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Oakland there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lettuce if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oakland

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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 Oakland

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