First time with lettuce...

[malkore]

So this is only our second growing season...zone 5a (Lincoln, NE)

We've not done cool weather crops so we got some different varieties of leaf lettuce seeds...

but the info we find says simply "plant when you can work the soil". Well sometimes January in Nebraska is warm enough to work the soil!

So, knowing our frost-safe date is basically Mother's day (May 8 this year), when is it safe to plant lettuce seeds?

Is 'today' too early?

And I assume I'll need some cold shelters for them when the overnight low is below... 40F? 32F? I don't have cold frames but I have milk jugs I cut the bottoms off of last year to serve as a protective barrier.

help?

[jal_ut]

You can plant lettuce now. It will not need any protection. I like to plant 3 or 4 seeds in a spot then move over a foot or ten inches and do it again, etc. When the seed comes up thin to one plant in a spot, then it can make a nice head.

You can plant many other seeds now too. Peas, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, turnips, kohlrabi, cauliflower, lettuce, dill, spinach, Brussels sprouts, onion, mustard, arugula, asparagus (seed).

[malkore]

You can plant lettuce now. It will not need any protection. I like to plant 3 or 4 seeds in a spot then move over a foot or ten inches and do it again, etc. When the seed comes up thin to one plant in a spot, then it can make a nice head.

You can plant many other seeds now too. Peas, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, turnips, kohlrabi, cauliflower, lettuce, dill, spinach, Brussels sprouts, onion, asparagus (seed).

Interesting.

the only thing in that list we are growing this year is peas. The rest is bush beans, bell peppers, several hot peppers (cayenne, poblano), cantaloupe, cucumbers and tomatoes, plus some herbs around the perimeter.

I don't have the materials to build the trellis yet for the peas as I assumed they would go in the ground much later.

[jal_ut]

I never trellis peas. Plant two or three rows ten inches apart. They kind of support each other. If you really want a lot of peas plant 5 10 foot rows ten inches apart. The Oregon sugar peas can be grown the same way. They don't make as long of vines as some of the sugar peas.
I like Little Marvel or Wando for fresh eating as the harvest is spread out. Lincoln or Victory Freezer come all at once for a freezer crop.

[ruggr10]

Snow melting here in Maine Zone 5a but at least a foot left on raised beds. I'd love to be in your shoes where you can get your cold weather crops in. We may have another month up here.

[malkore]

Snow melting here in Maine Zone 5a but at least a foot left on raised beds. I'd love to be in your shoes where you can get your cold weather crops in. We may have another month up here.

we have the same issue really, today its going to be 70F, but we could easily get 8" of snow this month.

[Stella Blue]

Just to get this right. It's ok to sow lettuce, carrots, etc, and then let it get snowed on? In upstate NY, I'm sure we'll get more before we're finished.

[malkore]

I got the lettuce seeds put in the ground Thursday. Supposed to get some rain in the next 24 hours, not much though.

I've also been tearing out some nasty old bushes along a fence line...I'll be real happy when that project is over.

Picked up some compost, bone meal and veggie garden tone to try out this season.

Spring starts tomorrow!