When to plant Lettuce in Michigan, United States

Lettuce can be planted after May 11, when air temperature is consistently in a range between 32°F and 75°F and soil temperature is above 45°F.

Lettuce details page

Growing Lettuce in Michigan

Days suitable for growing Lettuce in Michigan

Michigan has on average 55 continious days, suitable for growing Lettuce. Lettuce needs on average between 30 and 70 days to mature and produce harvest.

Growing season for Lettuce in Michigan is quite short, with only 55 continious days suitable for growing, so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.

Lettuce seeds can be planted between September 05 and September 29. Planting before September 05 without any additional protection is not advised because cold streaks can damage or kill off young plant. When planting after September 29, Lettuce will not have enough time to mature and produce harvest.

Growing season extention

In order to maximize chances for a good harvest of Lettuce in Michigan, some extra steps can be taken to extend growing season.

Start seeds indoors

When starting seeds indoors, it is possible to guarantee best possible conditions for young seedlings. Consistent temperature range, adequate watering and ample light (natural, supplemented with artifitial grow lights) will ensure you have strong and healthy seedlings just in time for transplanting into soil.

It takes 20 days on average for Lettuce to sprout, and grow big enough to be ready for transplanting.

Michigan has 2 distinct seasons for growing Lettuce

In order to get plants ready for May 11 seeds should be started indoors bwetween April 21 and May 04
Seeds started after May 04 are not likely to mature and produce harvest.
This Lettuce growing season in Michigan is quite short, with only 24 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.
In order to get plants ready for September 05 seeds should be started indoors bwetween August 16 and August 20
Seeds started after August 20 are not likely to mature and produce harvest.
This Lettuce growing season in Michigan is quite short, with only 55 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.

Use a cold frame

When using a cold frame in a beggining of growing season You can protect young plants from possible temperature drops, this way growing season can start up to 2 weeks earlier.

Use an additional shading

On days, when air temperatures are expected to raise above 75°F, which is in top of tolerable range for Lettuce, consider using additional shading to prevent heat shock.

Total frost free days	171
Last frost expected date	May 13
First frost expected date	October 31
Dates with ideal conditions	May 19 to May 24 (6 days) May 28 September 23 September 25 to September 30 (6 days) October 02 to October 07 (6 days) October 11
Dates with suitable conditions	May 03 May 11 to June 03 (24 days) June 07 to June 09 (3 days) June 12 to June 16 (5 days) August 30 to August 31 (2 days) September 05 to October 29 (55 days)
Total days ideal for growing Lettuce in Michigan	21
Total days suitable for growing Lettuce in Michigan	90
Days needed for Lettuce to mature and produce harvest	30 - 70
Seed can be planted directly into soil	yes

Notable temperature facts for growing Lettuce in Michigan

Table with days suitable to grow vegetables in Michigan

Tolerable temperature range for Lettuce: 32°F to 75°F

	Week	Average temperature	Possible min and max temperature	Suitable for Lettuce
1	January 01 - January 03	25°F to 35°F	9°F to 43°F
2	January 04 - January 10	24°F to 34°F	5°F to 46°F
3	January 11 - January 17	22°F to 33°F	1°F to 46°F
4	January 18 - January 24	18°F to 29°F	-6°F to 41°F
5	January 25 - January 31	13°F to 25°F	-9°F to 37°F
6	February 01 - February 07	18°F to 31°F	-6°F to 47°F
7	February 08 - February 14	16°F to 30°F	-2°F to 49°F
8	February 15 - February 21	16°F to 31°F	-2°F to 48°F
9	February 22 - February 28	22°F to 34°F	8°F to 47°F
10	March 01 - March 07	22°F to 37°F	2°F to 53°F
11	March 08 - March 14	27°F to 42°F	8°F to 58°F
12	March 15 - March 21	29°F to 45°F	18°F to 60°F
13	March 22 - March 28	31°F to 45°F	17°F to 62°F
14	March 29 - April 04	32°F to 47°F	19°F to 61°F
15	April 05 - April 11	39°F to 55°F	28°F to 71°F	TRUE
16	April 12 - April 18	37°F to 52°F	26°F to 75°F	TRUE
17	April 19 - April 25	37°F to 53°F	27°F to 72°F	TRUE
18	April 26 - May 02	39°F to 54°F	29°F to 73°F	TRUE
19	May 03 - May 09	42°F to 58°F	33°F to 70°F	TRUE
20	May 10 - May 16	45°F to 63°F	29°F to 80°F	TRUE
21	May 17 - May 23	51°F to 67°F	40°F to 80°F	TRUE
22	May 24 - May 30	54°F to 71°F	42°F to 83°F	TRUE
23	May 31 - June 06	56°F to 74°F	44°F to 85°F	TRUE
24	June 07 - June 13	57°F to 73°F	48°F to 85°F	TRUE
25	June 14 - June 20	57°F to 75°F	48°F to 87°F	TRUE
26	June 21 - June 27	62°F to 77°F	48°F to 90°F
27	June 28 - July 04	64°F to 81°F	54°F to 87°F
28	July 05 - July 11	65°F to 80°F	56°F to 89°F
29	July 12 - July 18	64°F to 78°F	57°F to 85°F
30	July 19 - July 25	65°F to 80°F	57°F to 88°F
31	July 26 - August 01	65°F to 79°F	57°F to 87°F
32	August 02 - August 08	64°F to 79°F	55°F to 86°F
33	August 09 - August 15	64°F to 78°F	56°F to 85°F
34	August 16 - August 22	63°F to 78°F	55°F to 85°F
35	August 23 - August 29	64°F to 79°F	53°F to 87°F
36	August 30 - September 05	61°F to 75°F	52°F to 86°F
37	September 06 - September 12	59°F to 72°F	51°F to 81°F	TRUE
38	September 13 - September 19	58°F to 72°F	46°F to 80°F	TRUE
39	September 20 - September 26	57°F to 70°F	42°F to 82°F	TRUE
40	September 27 - October 03	54°F to 67°F	41°F to 81°F	TRUE
41	October 04 - October 10	51°F to 63°F	39°F to 78°F	TRUE
42	October 11 - October 17	48°F to 59°F	37°F to 76°F	TRUE
43	October 18 - October 24	45°F to 57°F	36°F to 71°F	TRUE
44	October 25 - October 31	42°F to 52°F	31°F to 68°F	TRUE
45	November 01 - November 07	39°F to 51°F	27°F to 66°F	TRUE
46	November 08 - November 14	37°F to 48°F	9°F to 70°F	TRUE
47	November 15 - November 21	31°F to 42°F	16°F to 59°F
48	November 22 - November 28	31°F to 41°F	19°F to 51°F
49	November 29 - December 05	30°F to 39°F	21°F to 50°F
50	December 06 - December 12	29°F to 39°F	15°F to 53°F
51	December 13 - December 19	28°F to 37°F	11°F to 59°F
52	December 20 - December 26	27°F to 38°F	7°F to 53°F
53	December 27 - December 31	29°F to 38°F	14°F to 50°F

Days with suitable temperature for growing Lettuce in Michigan

Lettuce details page

For more precise weather statisctics and planting information, please select a County in Michigan.

All data is provided “as is” without warranty or any representation of accuracy, timeliness or completeness.

Average daily temperatures were calculated using

Weather data provided by OpenWeather