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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Mankato it's a good idea to determine 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 do ok in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant iceberg lettuce in Mankato is April. However, you really should wait until May 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 August. Any later than that and your iceberg lettuce may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your iceberg lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Mankato. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mankato is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mankato it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your iceberg lettuce in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mankato

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 Mankato

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