The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Forest Park you can estimate when to plant lettuce by referring to 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.

Since lettuce are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Forest Park 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. If you wait any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Forest Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Forest Park and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Forest Park you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your lettuce if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest Park

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 Forest Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest Park.