Growing Lettuce

lactuca sativa : Asteraceae / the daisy family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
  S S                  
      T T              
      P P P P          

(Best months for growing Lettuce in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden, or start in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks.. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 46°F and 81°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 8 - 12 inches apart
  • Harvest in 8-12 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Carrots, Onions, Strawberries, Beets, Brassicas, Radish, Marigold, Borage, Chervil, Florence fennel, leeks.
  • Avoid growing close to: Parsley, Celery

Your comments and tips

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22 Jan 11, Daniel (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Lance, Unless you are able to water Lettuce everyday (twice a day in a pot) during the warmer months then it will bolt. Lettuce is a much happier autumn - spring crop
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22 Jan 11, (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Cos are definitely a cool weather variety but otherwise it depends on your climate whether lettuce will grow in the Summer.
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19 Nov 10, Bryan (Australia - temperate climate)
I have planted several perpetual lettuce but half of them are going to seed less than 2 weeks after we picked our first leaves. I understood with perpetual lettuce that we just harvested the lowest leaves. I assume even perpetual lettuce will seed eventually but is there a way I can prolong the life to more than the few weeks? Thank you
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17 Dec 12, John Allman (Australia - temperate climate)
Less sun
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22 Apr 10, Tara (Australia - temperate climate)
I have planted some fancy mixed salad plants in a pot, 2 of the 6 died, but the other 4 look healthy but the leaves feel quite soggy rather than crisp, any reason for this? also when i water them the seem to flop even more and are better the next day. Do i just harvest the outside leaves slowly and will it re-grow?
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16 Apr 10, Rob (Australia - temperate climate)
My COS lettuce is booming - growing really thick really quick with lots of leaves. much better than my attempt to grow it in summer, where it shot up had a tall stem, seeded and few leaves.
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08 Apr 10, Keno (Australia - temperate climate)
Like Marcel....My iceberg lettuce doesn't seem to get a firm 'heart' just a bunch of loose leaves. I followed the seed packet and planting instructions.
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02 Apr 10, Marcel (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
My iceberg lettuce doesn't seem to get a firm 'heart' just a bunch of loose leaves. I followed the seed packet and planting instructions but no joy. my rabbit was happy with the lettuce though. :-) Any hints? I don't need to wrap them like with cellery do I?
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28 Mar 10, Dixie (Australia - temperate climate)
I have grown a variety of lettuce but they all taste bitter. What can I do or what am I doing wrong?
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27 Jan 10, Evelyn (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Jaime, I had the same problem with those small whitefly and little black bugs on my perpetual lettuce. The thing that worked well for me was the yellow sticky sheets from Green Harvest. I think you can get them in other places as well. Just tie the sheets onto a stick amongst the lettuce, close to the leaf crop and next day the sheet is covered in bugs. It only attracts those nasty bugs as the good bugs don't appear to be affected. Safe and organic. Hope that helps. Like Barb I grow most of my summer lettuce in the shade under a tree or in pots near the back deck. Works well and less likely to bolt. Perpetual Lettuce is also good for summer as it does not bolt.
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Showing 151 - 160 of 195 comments
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Most clear plastic is considered direct sunlight - unless there are special filters in the plastic. That is to say, if the only thing between your lettuce and the sun is regular clear plastic, you should be fine. As and FYI there are multiple categories: 1. Direct sunlight - some plants require direct sunlight on their leaves 2. BRIGHT shade; for example when I lived in a Condo, my balcony had no direct sunlight, but because the buildings beside my building had huge glass windows I had VERY bright shade and could grow most full sun potted plants. This also applies to living near the water, where the sun gets reflected-- MOST full sun plants are fine with REFLECTED light but not all. This could also be a a very sunny field, with shade cast from one building, chances are good that would be very bright shade 3. Sun/Shade with all its variations 4. Light shade and 5. Deep shade like the middle of a dense forest. I see no reason why you could not grow SOME of your veggies in the bright shade. I find that many plants labelled full sun, are not. For example: strawberries are generally labelled full sun. However, strawberries TEND to grow naturally in the shade of other plants: woodland or forest floor, in meadows shaded by other plants. I've noticed that any of my strawberries that get full sun tend to have burnt leaves, and the best yielding strawberry plants are in a cool predominately shady areas. I suspect that planting your plants that tend to bolt in a cooler shadier area would be very helpful. I've even grown cherry tomatoes in very bright shade with great success.

- Celeste Archer

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