One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Malden it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant lettuce.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

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

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Malden 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 really do well. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Malden. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Malden may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Malden you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lettuce in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Malden

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Malden

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