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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids you should be able 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 a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Cedar Rapids 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cedar Rapids the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cedar Rapids it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lettuce if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cedar Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Rapids.