Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 figuring out when you can plant lettuce is to examine the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg.

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 just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mechanicsburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mechanicsburg last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your lettuce if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mechanicsburg

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 Mechanicsburg

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