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.

The USDA zone info for Utica should be reffered to in order to determine when you can plant lettuce.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Since lettuce are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Utica the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Utica may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Utica last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your lettuce in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Utica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Utica

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