One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 common way of determining when to plant lettuce is to examine the USDA zone info for Bay City.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Lettuce can survive in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Bay City 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. Any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bay City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in 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 Bay City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bay City there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your lettuce in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bay City

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 Bay City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bay City.