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

The first opportunity to plant romaine lettuce in Salem can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

Frost tolerance for romaine lettuce:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant romaine lettuce much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in Salem 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 romaine lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your romaine lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. It might get as low as -10°F during 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 Salem and it is different every year. Half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your romaine lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

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 Salem

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