One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A way of estimating when you can plant lettuce is to look at the USDA zone info for Hickory.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Lettuce do well in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Hickory 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hickory. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Hickory is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Hickory you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lettuce if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hickory

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hickory

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