One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Iowa City you can determine when you can plant iceberg lettuce by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Iceberg lettuce

Frost tolerance for iceberg lettuce:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Iceberg lettuce are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant iceberg lettuce in Iowa City is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant iceberg lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your iceberg lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your iceberg lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Iowa City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Iowa City is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your iceberg lettuce in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.