One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Lancaster you can estimate when to plant lettuce by checking out 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.

Since lettuce are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Lancaster 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lettuce indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lancaster the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lancaster and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lancaster there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your lettuce if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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