How to grow lettuce

Lactuca sativa · Asteraceae · Vegetable

Lettuce is a cool-season vegetable in the Asteraceae family, grown either from a direct sowing or from transplants. It wants full sun, though it tolerates a little afternoon shade in hot regions and consistent moisture — it resents drying out. From sowing to first pick is about 30–60 days. It shrugs off a light frost but a hard freeze will damage it.

Grower’s note: Seed needs light - barely cover it. Will not germinate above ~80 F soil. Loose-leaf types give the fastest, most forgiving cut-and-come-again harvest.

Sowing

Sow barely covered — the seed needs light to germinate, into soil between 35–80°F — germination is quickest near 65°F. It comes up fast (2–10 days). For an early crop, start seed indoors about 4 weeks before your last spring frost and grow it under bright light.

Spacing & layout

Give each plant about 10″ along the row with roughly 14″ between rows. On a square-foot grid that is 4 per square foot. Allow at least 8″ of loose, workable soil for the roots. It grows well in containers at least 6″ deep.

Fitting it to your season

As a cool-season crop, lettuce does its best growing in the mild weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. A second sowing in late summer, timed to mature as the weather cools, is usually the better crop of the year — though a hard freeze will end it.

Quick facts

When to plant lettuce

Companions

Common problems

Pests: aphids, slugs, snails, cutworm.

Diseases & disorders: downy mildew, bottom rot, tipburn (calcium disorder).

Same family (Asteraceae)

Rotate these so they don’t follow each other in the same bed year to year.

Figures are typical home-garden ranges from Cooperative Extension planting guides, cross-checked against multiple state sources. Your variety and conditions will vary.