One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant lettuce by checking out the USDA zone info for Oak Island.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Lettuce do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Oak Island 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. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Oak Island. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Island and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Island you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your lettuce in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Island

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Oak Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Island.