Growing lettuce in zone 10
Sow a short row every 2 weeks instead of one big planting — lettuce bolts quickly once heat arrives. Afternoon shade extends the spring season, and fall crops are often the sweetest.
Zone 10 covers south Florida, coastal Southern California, low desert — frost is rare — the calendar flips, with the main garden running fall through spring. Zone dates are medians: frost timing varies within a zone with elevation and terrain, so treat these windows as a solid default and refine them with your own city’s dates below.
Make it local
These windows use zone 10's typical frost dates (last frost ~Jan 25, first frost ~Dec 20). For windows computed from your frost dates, run the ZIP code frost lookup and open the planting calendar — it remembers your city. The seed starting scheduler turns the whole seed rack into one printable, date-sorted list.
Frequently asked questions
When do I plant lettuce in zone 10?
Transplant Dec 28 – Jan 11, counted from zone 10's typical last frost around Jan 25. It handles a light frost but not a hard freeze, so watch the forecast early in the window.
When should I start seeds indoors for lettuce in zone 10?
Sow indoors Dec 14 – Dec 28 — that's 6 to 4 weeks before the typical Jan 25 last frost, giving sturdy transplants exactly when the garden is ready for them.
Can I direct sow lettuce in zone 10?
Yes — direct sow Dec 28 – Jan 25. Transplants buy a head start, but direct-sown plants catch up quickly once soil warms.
Can I plant lettuce for a fall harvest in zone 10?
Yes — sow Oct 25 – Nov 22, counted back from the typical Dec 20 first frost so plants mature before serious cold. Time it so harvest wraps up before the first frost.