July is a hot month is Nebraska, and I stop planting lettuce. I concentrate on keeping the lettuce plants I have alive with frequent watering and screens to block the intense direct sunlight of midday. I also put a little mulch around young plants to keep the soil temperature as low as possible.

Hot, dry wind can be a problem in July, and I set up screens of solid wood on the south side of plantings to block the dry, south wind.

Heavy rain can also flatten young lettuce plants, and screens may not be enough to protect them. When I expect heavy rain is coming, I may double the screen or I may put scrap plywood over the lettuce plants suspended above them on blocks of scrap lumber to prevent the rain from crushing the plants.

If you can get lettuce through July and early August in Nebraska, you've accomplished something!

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