Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 figuring out when you can plant lettuce is to refer to the USDA zone info for Kearney.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Since lettuce do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Kearney 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lettuce may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Kearney the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Kearney is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Kearney there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your lettuce in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Kearney

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Kearney

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