The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant lettuce by referring to the USDA zone info for Santa Monica.

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 means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Santa Monica 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. If you wait any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Santa Monica. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Monica may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Monica there is a last frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lettuce in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Monica

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Monica.