Virginia · zones 6b–8a
When to plant lettuce in Virginia.
Sow between Mar 3 to Apr 17 in a typical year, keyed to Virginia's median last frost around Apr 10. A second, fall sowing fits Aug 15 to Oct 14. Dates below are state medians; your ZIP code shifts them by days to weeks.
The 2026 windows
Lettuce dates for a typical Virginia season.
Direct sow
Mar 3 to Apr 17
Keyed to the ~Apr 10 last frost. Sow 0.25" deep, 6" apart.
Fall round
Aug 15 to Oct 14
Counted back from the ~Oct 29 first frost.
Harvest
~45 days later
~0.4 lb per plant over ~1 weeks.
Virginia spans more than one climate: Zone 7 is the most common zone, but the state runs 6b to 8a. That's why the planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not your zone: mountain and coastal gardens in the same state can be three weeks apart.
Virginia growing notes
Virginia's long season gives lettuce more chances than most gardeners use.
A season long enough for more than two plantings
The frost-free stretch in Virginia runs long enough, and mild enough at both ends, that a gardener treating lettuce as a one-shot spring crop is leaving most of the season's harvest on the table. Because lettuce germinates in cool soil and bolts in genuine heat, the trick in a state this long-seasoned is not planting once, it is planting in small batches through spring, easing off during the hottest stretch of summer, and picking back up as the weather turns in fall, sometimes running later into the year than gardeners farther north ever attempt.
Direct-sow into soil that has warmed past the mid-40s at a couple of inches deep; colder ground germinates unevenly and leaves gaps in the row that never fill in properly on their own. A quick check with an inexpensive soil thermometer beats guessing by feel, especially in early spring when a warm afternoon can trick a gardener into sowing on ground that is still cold underneath.
Tidewater humidity against Shenandoah's cooler nights
Virginia's Tidewater and coastal plain hold heat and humidity later into the evening than the state's inland valleys do, and lettuce reads warm nights as a cue to bolt, sending up a bitter flower stalk instead of continuing to produce tender leaf. A Tidewater gardener chasing a longer spring lettuce window does better under light afternoon shade cloth once temperatures start climbing, buying an extra couple of weeks before the crop turns bitter.
In the Shenandoah Valley and the state's higher western counties, cooler nights hold that bolting trigger off longer without any extra effort, which is why lettuce grown there tends to run a noticeably longer spring season than the same variety grown on the coast. A gardener splitting time between both regions can plant the exact same seed packet on the same date and get two genuinely different harvest windows out of it.
Slugs, cutworms, and the value of a clean check before dark
Slugs and snails do their worst feeding after dark in Virginia's humid summer nights, leaving ragged holes and a telltale slime trail across the leaf by morning; a flashlight check an hour or two after sunset, followed by handpicking, catches them at work in a way a daytime inspection never will. Diatomaceous earth or crushed eggshell scattered around the base of young transplants adds a rough barrier they are reluctant to cross.
Cutworms attack from the opposite direction, severing a young transplant right at the soil line overnight and leaving the top lying next to an otherwise undisturbed root. A cut section of paper cup or cardboard tube, pushed down into the soil so it rings each transplant's stem below ground level, stops the worm cold and takes only a few seconds per plant to set up.
In Virginia: watch for
The pests that find lettuce here.
A middle-length season, about 202 frost-free days, means lettuce, leaf overlaps aphids for a stretch each summer. Check plants every week or two and treat early.
Clusters tucked into the heart of the head.
Organic fix: Rinse well; insecticidal soap on young plants.
Ragged holes and slime trails, worse after rain.
Organic fix: Iron-phosphate bait; a diatomaceous-earth ring; hand-pick at night.
Seedlings clipped off at the soil line overnight.
Organic fix: Collars around the stems; Bt or diatomaceous earth.
Pale yellow patches boxed in by the leaf veins, with white fuzz underneath.
Organic fix: Give plants room, let them dry between waterings, clear old leaves, and pick resistant varieties.
Your season math: Virginia gives lettuce about 202 frost-free days, and it needs roughly 45 days to a first harvest. That fits about 16 re-sown rounds across the season, so you can keep it coming instead of picking once.
Planting lettuce in Virginia: questions
When should I plant lettuce in Virginia?+
In a typical Virginia year, sow lettuce between Mar 3 to Apr 17, keyed to the state's median last frost around Apr 10. There's also a fall window: Aug 15 to Oct 14. Your exact dates shift with your ZIP code and microclimate.
What USDA zone is Virginia?+
Virginia spans zones 6b–8a, mostly zone 7. But frost dates, not zones, set planting time. The free planner uses your ZIP code's actual frost dates.
How many lettuce plants do I need?+
Depends who you're feeding. The crop page has exact counts per household size, or the free planner does the math for your family in about 60 seconds.