When to Plant Lettuce in Chatham, NJ

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant lettuce by referring to the USDA zone info for Chatham.


Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

You can plant lettuce a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lettuce
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lettuce
Probably not a good time to plant lettuce

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Chatham 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. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chatham the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Chatham is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Chatham it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your lettuce if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chatham

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Chatham

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