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

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Alton can be figured out by checking out 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.

Lettuce do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Alton 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Alton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alton and it is different every year. Half of the time in Alton last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lettuce in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Alton

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