When can I start lettuce?

[Garland Grower]

I know it is probably okay to start Spinach and other cool weather greens, but we just had an out of the ordinary downpour of snow in and around Dallas today. I want to start some greens for the farm stand...Mesclun and leaf lettuces etc. Will these start in the cold? If lettuce is frozen in the supermarket it's ruined. I can do hoop covers with rebar and plastic, or even build a more sturdy cover. I don't really want to do cold frames, I think they are too small/ too much trouble for the South, does that make sense? P.S. I was thinking of just getting a couple of small kiddie pools and filling with all the finished compost I have plus some bagged product to fill it up. My area set aside for this project is not ready yet (tons of Bermuda has to be killed out before I will even think of putting in permanent raised beds) so this would be temporary.

Thanks in advance.

[mjciccarel]

All I can tell you is that I start mine 2 to 3 weeks before our last frost date. By the time they come up it is usually warm enough.If you know you are getting a particularly cold night you can cover the plants. I have never used pools to plant but it makes sense to me especially for lettuce as it has very short root systems.

MJ

[Garland Grower]

All I can tell you is that I start mine 2 to 3 weeks before our last frost date. By the time they come up it is usually warm enough.If you know you are getting a particularly cold night you can cover the plants. I have never used pools to plant but it makes sense to me especially for lettuce as it has very short root systems.

MJ

Thanks, I went ahead and started two flats of 50 each Black seeded Simpson and Little Gem to transplant out to garden later. Is it okay to direct seed outside now, is that what you are saying? Thanks Rita