Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant romaine lettuce is to check out the USDA zone info for Hastings.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

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

Romaine lettuce tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in Hastings is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 August. If you wait any later than that and your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your romaine lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hastings the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hastings and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Hastings there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your romaine lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hastings

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Hastings

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