Growing Lettuce

lactuca sativa : Asteraceae / the daisy family

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

(Best months for growing Lettuce in Australia - tropical 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 8°C and 27°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 20 - 30 cm 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

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for Australia | for all countries
18 May 18, lois (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
i am from united states and I SAW OMNLINE ABOUT A CERTAIN KIND OF LETTUCE GROWN IN AUSTRALIA AND I CANNOT FIND OUT WHERE TO GET ANY. IT STARTS WITH A W,CAN YOU HELP ME. I HAD IT WRITTEN DOWN ON A PIECE OF PAPER BUT CANNOT FIND IT NOWM CAN YOU HELP?
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22 May 18, Claudie (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Lois, the only 'w' lettuce I can think of is Webb's Wonderful, which is a crisp-head type of lettuce, like iceberg. Could this be the one?
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21 May 18, colin (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Lettuce Green Mignonette is a possibility.
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21 May 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Is it White Boston? If so The Seed Collection Company on the internet have it $1 for 200 seeds- but out of stock at the moment. You could try other seed selling companies on the net.
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03 Jun 18, Andrew (Australia - temperate climate)
Not sure if it qualifies as lettuce, but wombok?
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05 Sep 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Andrew - I believe Wombok is Chinese 'cabbage' and that: 1. there are different types of Wombok 2. Cabbage is a brassica Is lettuce a brassica? I thought not but I could be wrong. - Jane
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04 Jun 18, Liz (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
This is the page you need www.gardenate.com/plant/Chinese%2Bcabbage
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04 Apr 18, Eugenia Wen (Australia - temperate climate)
I have a question is that my letuce will not grow and it always is dying I always follow the step of growning a good letucd but is always dies please help Eugenia
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05 Sep 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Eugenia - What I have found (so far) is that older types of lettuce have grown better where I am where-as the softer leaf ones struggle. A purple coloured one died. I am trying butter crunch, and all seasons lettuce at present although our climates are different. I have drought. You have heavy rains. Not sure any of this will help. You could try different types of lettuce and see what happens.
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15 Oct 17, Garvin Johny (USA - Zone 11b climate)
I'm growing COS lettuce in the Caribbean where it hot and humid most of the year but according to Gardenate lettuce is not suitable for my climate.
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Showing 31 - 40 of 196 comments
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My wife complained about the same problem. I had a proper look and detected some 14 caterpillars. the took the colour of the leaves and so were hard to see. However, I had made a day earlier as picture of it and checking back I could see the caterpillars. I scraped them off (better not touch them) and used surface spray that kills them about instantly. Actually I now discovered different caterpillars at a tree and spaying on them a little bit of surface spray caused them to drop of-dead. Obviously no good say on vegies, so use a little tool to scrape them off. I have placed a netting around the vegie and no further caterpillars. Do keep in mind that removing the caterpillars may be the first step as eggs may have already been on the plant for others and so you need to keep an eye on it for a few days.

- Gerrit Hendrik Schorel-Hlavka O.W.B.

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