Home › California › Planting calendar › Lettuce

California planting dates

When to Plant Lettuce in California

For lettuce in California, spring planting starts between Aug 1 (Butte County) and Feb 1 (Alameda County); fall planting starts between Sep 1 (Imperial County) and Nov 1 (Butte County), according to UC Master Gardener Program.

Photo: Heads of lettuce in a garden bed. Prenn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

More planting dates for California

Planting dates for each crop in California, from the UC Master Gardener Program calendar.

Tomatoes

Peppers

Potatoes

Sweet Corn

Green Beans

Cucumbers

Squash

Onions

Planting lettuce in California: questions

When do you plant lettuce in California?

For lettuce in California, spring planting starts between Aug 1 (Butte County) and Feb 1 (Alameda County); fall planting starts between Sep 1 (Imperial County) and Nov 1 (Butte County), according to UC Master Gardener Program.

Can I plant lettuce in the fall in California?

Yes. Fall planting starts between Sep 1 (Imperial County) and Nov 1 (Butte County).

Do I need to wait for the last frost to plant lettuce?

Frost dates vary by weeks across California; the California frost dates page lists them by county.

Where do these dates for lettuce come from?

California Master Gardener Handbook Table 13.2 Time of planting (UC Master Gardener Program statewide page; table 'Recommended planting dates', source: California Master Gardener Handbook, Table 13.2).

Do I use different dates in my county?

Each county's dates come from its assigned region in the UC Master Gardener table.

Photos: Heads of lettuce in a garden bed: Prenn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Lettuce plants growing in rows: AfroBrazilian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Green and red leaf lettuce heads growing along drip lines in a garden bed: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons; Young lettuce plant in garden soil: GT1976, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Leaf lettuce growing in a garden: GT1976, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Close view of rice plants in a field in the Sacramento Valley: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Unripe green tomato on the plant: Microrao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pepper plant in a kitchen garden loaded with green, yellow and red peppers: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Potato plants growing in a home garden: Geo Lightspeed7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of sweet corn in a field: Wee Hong, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Clusters of long green bean pods hanging from a climbing bean vine: Nirajan_pant, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cucumber plants growing in a greenhouse bed: HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Zucchini plant with a yellow flower: net_efekt from Oxford, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Long rows of green onion plants growing in sandy farm soil: ליזי שאנן, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.