One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 USDA zone info for California can be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant lettuce.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Lettuce do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in California. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for California is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in California there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lettuce if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for California

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 Low	0°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 California

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