One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 Winchester you can figure out when it's the best time to plant lettuce by looking at 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Winchester 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. If you wait any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Winchester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Winchester and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Winchester you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lettuce in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winchester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Winchester

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