Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

In Rensselaer you can figure out when it's possible to plant romaine lettuce by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

Frost tolerance for romaine lettuce:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since romaine lettuce do well in cold you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in Rensselaer 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 romaine lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your romaine lettuce may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your romaine lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rensselaer. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rensselaer is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rensselaer there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your romaine lettuce if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rensselaer

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 Rensselaer

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