When to plant lettuce in Ottawa

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Tight fit in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Lettuce in Ottawa is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 96 days covers the 40–70 days this plant usually needs.

When to plantApril 1 – June 22; July 25 – August 17

Harvest: May 11 – August 31
Season vs crop: 96 grow days vs 40–70 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): May 13 – October 30

Lettuce in Ottawa is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 96 days covers the 40–70 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Direct sow
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row96

Days to harvest40–70 days from seed

Apr 1 – Jun 22

Direct sow

May 11 – Aug 31

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Direct sow	Apr 1 – Jun 22	Plant outdoors in this window.
Harvest	May 11 – Aug 31	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (15 – 21 °C) and tolerable (4 – 27 °C) ranges.

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostMay 13

Safer last spring frostMay 13

Typical first fall frostOctober 30

Safer first fall frostOctober 30

Frost-free days169

Outdoor sow dateApril 1

Direct sow windowApril 1 – June 22

Suitable growing windowJuly 25 – October 28 (96 days)

Expected harvestMay 11 – August 31

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 15 – 21 °C.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 4 – 27 °C.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Ottawa, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 40–70 days from seed, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Lettuce: Apr 1 – Jun 22; Jul 25 – Oct 28 (179 days)

Planting window for Lettuce: Apr 1 – Jun 22; Jul 25 – Aug 17 (107 days)

Usually too cold: Jan 1 – Mar 29; Nov 2 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Ottawa. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

Ideal range
Tolerable range
Possible min to max
Average min to max
Suitable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 14 · Mar 30 – Apr 5

Average −2 to 8 °C · Possible −10 to 18 °C

Growing: too cold (inside window)

Planting: suitable

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 4 to 27 °C; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 15 to 21 °C band and possible readings stay within 4 °C to 27 °C. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; a possible low below 4 °C makes it tolerable. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks

Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for Ottawa

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this

Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 45.41, -75.70, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
Crop rule: Local windows for Lettuce from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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