frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Iceberg lettuce in Ottumwa, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant iceberg lettuce in Ottumwa by using the USDA zone info.

Create beautiful hand-made plants at forever-plants.com

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 start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant iceberg lettuce in Ottumwa 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. If you wait any later than that and your iceberg lettuce may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your iceberg lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Ottumwa. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ottumwa and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ottumwa it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your iceberg lettuce if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ottumwa

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 Ottumwa

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