One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of figuring out when it's possible to plant lettuce is to look at the USDA zone info for Effingham.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

Frost tolerance for lettuce:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since lettuce do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Effingham 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Effingham the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Effingham is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Effingham there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Effingham

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 Effingham

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