One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The first chance to plant romaine lettuce in Bristol should be figured out by referring to 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.

Romaine lettuce do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant romaine lettuce in Bristol 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 really do well. Starting your romaine lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Bristol. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bristol is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bristol it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your romaine lettuce in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bristol

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