One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when you can plant lettuce is to look at the USDA zone info for Damascus.

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 little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Damascus 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lettuce indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Damascus the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Damascus is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Damascus you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your lettuce in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Damascus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Damascus

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