I am further south, but I planted my first batch of lettuces out at the end of March, while the last frost here isn't until early May. I've heard anywhere between 3 weeks before the last frost to after the last frost for lettuce. I can tell you most of mine have survived and we have had a few nights down to 28 degrees--however I did cover them below 34. A bit of lettuce advice--divide the space you plan for lettuce and depending on how much you eat save room to sow new seeds every 2-3 weeks. It grows fairly rapidly and if you plant all at once you end up with too much at once. Keeping that in mind, my personal feeling is to plant some seed early knowing that it may or may not all survive depending on luck and weather, because not all is lost when you are planting more in a few weeks. I've never transplanted lettuce, but I beleive it does not take well to being transplanted traditionally, so if you go that route use a biodegradable pot like peat or newspaper. Peat gets a bad rap as it dries out very fast, but I do use it for delicate transplants. Arugula in particular is best eaten young, it gets bitter when it is too big, which makes it a great thing to grow in a container. Then you can get a jump start on the season because you have the ease of just bringing it in on a cold night. Just an idea if you are suffering spring fever :)

"I did think about doing lettuce in flats but I frankly find it easier to water in the ground than keep up with flats. I don't have a good light set up for inside, either." Maybe, but you said that it is not working and that your lettuce have failed so I thought I'd offer an alternative. Perhaps I wasn't clear. I do not sow them indoors or under lights. I don't own lights and have never needed them. I sow a small pinch of seed into each cell of a 9 cell tray. I have just been out to check them and there are about 12 plantlets in each cell ie 108 lettuce plants in a single small tray. I sow the seed and put the tray outside my back door on the patio table. It is no trouble at all to water them or move them around into/out of the sun and keep an eye out for pests. I don't prick them out but just tease the clumps apart to plant. They can be planted at intervals and held back if necessary. They always recover. Just a thought on how to get your Autumn garden on the go.

Flea beetles make shotgun pellet-like holes in the leaves. What you describe sounds to me like classic sun-scorch. Lettuce planted in full sun, especially in south or southwest facing gardens, get a sudden rise in internal leaf temperature, producing a white patchy scorched appearance along the edges and ribs of the leaf. Other possibilities are nitrogen burn or herbicide drift but based on your info it sure doesn't sound like any pest problem. Dave

Sorry I haven't been posting but my poor little webtv won't let me on so I have to go offsite to login.Any weekend is good for me.there's plenty of parking at my place-2 acres :O).I've already started potting things but haven't updated my page yet.As for food around here the best is The Ark! Best shrimp & catfish there is.People come from all to eat there & it isn't expensive.There is also a chinese buffet,The Shack barbeque,a mexican place & several others to choose from.Anyone want more info just email me directly as that is easier for me.Hope we have a good turnout this fall.I have lots to get rid of-from tropicals to hardy to water plants! Jan