By Pritha Golden Steele

When we start our first lettuce plantings at the end of February and beginning of March, I often get the question “Isn’t it too early to be planting lettuce?” Lettuces are cold sensitive and in our climate, and late winter is marked with frosty nights. Fortunately, if you follow a few simple practices, you can successfully grow early season lettuce, and start eating fresh salads from your garden come early spring.

Three Tips For Success

**Cover your lettuces with frost blanket:**
Just like you and me, plants can benefit from a blanket in cold temperatures. You can source frost blanket from various sellers. Farm supply companies like **Territorial Seed Company** provide options for online ordering and local shops such as **Concentrates** or **Portland Nursery** carry a selection of different options in house.

**Plant lettuce starts instead of seeds:**
Early in the season, seeds are slower to germinate and can struggle with the colder temperatures. By using plant starts you begin with mature plants that will be more resistant to frost damage than a seedling.

Select lettuce varieties that are cold hardy:
Romaine lettuce is generally one of the hardier lettuce types in cold weather and ‘Winter Density’ Romaine is especially so. We also love it for it’s incredibly tender and delicious leaves. For some variety, Tango green lettuce and Buckley red lettuce are also examples of cold tolerant lettuce varieties.

Good luck and happy growing!