One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for New Orleans it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant iceberg lettuce.

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 tend to make it in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant iceberg lettuce in New Orleans 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 iceberg lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your iceberg lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your iceberg lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

In New Orleans the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°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 New Orleans and it is different every year. Since half of the time in New Orleans it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your iceberg lettuce if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New Orleans

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in New Orleans

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Orleans.