One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 earliest that you can plant lettuce in Indiana should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

Lettuce do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Indiana 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. If you wait any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Indiana the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Indiana may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Indiana there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lettuce in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Indiana

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Indiana

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