Celtuce · Gary, Indiana, United States
When to plant celtuce in Gary
Main outdoor window
8-29 Apr
A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.
Timed from last spring frost
22 April
In Gary, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jun - 30 Sep
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Gary
Download these planting dates (.ics)
Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.
Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.
Start indoors
11 Mar - 1 Apr
Six weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
8-29 Apr
Two weeks before your last frost.
Sow direct
8-29 Apr
Two weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
1 Jun - 30 Sep
Celtuce through the year
Against the frost risk in Gary
Seasonal context
Rainfall and the growing season in Gary
May has the highest average precipitation (114 mm); January has the lowest (51 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.
During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.
Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.
Monthly growing conditions in Gary
Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.
| Month | Average low | Average high | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | -7.8°C (17.9°F)17.9°F (-7.8°C) | -0.4°C (31.3°F)31.3°F (-0.4°C) | 28.4 |
| February | -6.5°C (20.3°F)20.3°F (-6.5°C) | 2.1°C (35.7°F)35.7°F (2.1°C) | 25.9 |
| March | -1.6°C (29.1°F)29.1°F (-1.6°C) | 8.2°C (46.7°F)46.7°F (8.2°C) | 21.5 |
| April | 3.4°C (38.2°F)38.2°F (3.4°C) | 14.6°C (58.3°F)58.3°F (14.6°C) | 6.7 |
| May | 9.4°C (48.9°F)48.9°F (9.4°C) | 20.4°C (68.8°F)68.8°F (20.4°C) | 0.2 |
| June | 15.2°C (59.4°F)59.4°F (15.2°C) | 25.7°C (78.2°F)78.2°F (25.7°C) | 0.0 |
| July | 18.1°C (64.6°F)64.6°F (18.1°C) | 28.1°C (82.6°F)82.6°F (28.1°C) | 0.0 |
| August | 17.8°C (64°F)64°F (17.8°C) | 28°C (82.3°F)82.3°F (28°C) | 0.0 |
| September | 13.7°C (56.6°F)56.6°F (13.7°C) | 24.7°C (76.5°F)76.5°F (24.7°C) | 0.0 |
| October | 7°C (44.6°F)44.6°F (7°C) | 17.5°C (63.4°F)63.4°F (17.5°C) | 1.4 |
| November | 0.5°C (32.8°F)32.8°F (0.5°C) | 9.2°C (48.6°F)48.6°F (9.2°C) | 14.8 |
| December | -4.7°C (23.6°F)23.6°F (-4.7°C) | 2.5°C (36.5°F)36.5°F (2.5°C) | 25.9 |
For celtuce, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.
Local growing check
Before choosing celtuce for Gary
- May is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 114 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.
Before you plant celtuce
Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.
- Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 4.5°C (40.1°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
- Check the local overnight forecast before planting out. Delay planting or keep protection ready if frost is forecast, even after the historical last-frost date.
- Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
- Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.
Harvest the thick stem before celtuce becomes woody
Use fertile, drained soil with steady moisture. Avoid damaging shallow roots during hoeing and consider suitable shade in hot weather. A plant stretching under stress is not necessarily developing a useful culinary stem.
Check stems as they thicken and harvest before they become coarse or the plant advances into flowering. Prepare the outer skin appropriately and compare the crisp interior at different sizes. Keep leaf picking moderate when the stem is your main crop.
What to record this season
At what stem thickness did the peeled interior remain crisp and tender? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.
Further reading: Lactuca sativa angustana Celtuce PFAF Plant Database . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.
Plants For A Future compiles botanical and cultivation references. This is general species guidance, not a local field trial or evidence that every cultivar will crop in your climate.
How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy
Why these dates
Use fertile, drained soil with steady moisture. Avoid damaging shallow roots during hoeing and consider suitable shade in hot weather. A plant stretching under stress is not necessarily developing a useful culinary stem.
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.
This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Celtuce are timed from 6 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 2 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Gary.
The median frost-free season here is 192 days, against 70 to 90 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Gary
Other vegetables to time
Growing celtuce in Gary
Can I grow celtuce in Gary?
The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. May is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 114 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
When should I plant celtuce in Gary?
Aim for 8-29 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 21 Apr - 12 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When might celtuce be ready to harvest in Gary?
The estimated period is 1 Jun - 30 Sep, based on 70 to 90 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.
How much frost will celtuce tolerate?
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.