Lettuce
Head Lettuce, Loose Leaf Lettuce, Romaine, Butterhead, Oakleaf, Garden Lettuce
Cool-season crop tolerating light frost. Shade in afternoon heat prevents bolting. Sow every 2–3 weeks for continuous harvest (cut-and-come-again). Bolts (goes to seed) quickly above 75°F. Fall plantings often outperform spring. Keep soil consistently moist; shallow roots dry out fast. Baby greens ready in 25–35 days.
- Germination
- 7–10 days
- Soil temperature
- 7–18 °C
- Harvest after sowing
- 45–75 days
- Spacing
- 15–30 cm
When to plant lettuce
Sow outdoors 2–4 weeks before your last spring frost.
Dashed line: typical last spring frost in zone 7 (Apr 5). Zone dates are averages; most of the UK is zone 8–9, central Europe 6–7 and the Baltics and Scandinavia 4–6. In the app, Tomatograph uses your garden's own frost dates.
How to grow lettuce
- 1
Sow on the surface
Lettuce seed needs light to germinate. Scatter it thinly on moist soil 2–4 weeks before the last frost and press it in without covering.
- 2
Thin
Thin to 15–30 cm apart; wider spacing gives larger heads. Use the thinnings as baby leaves, ready in 25–35 days.
- 3
Keep it cool
Lettuce bolts and turns bitter above about 24 °C. Give it afternoon shade in summer, keep the shallow roots moist, and choose heat-tolerant varieties for midsummer.
- 4
Harvest
Cut outer leaves of loose-leaf types as needed, or whole heads once they feel firm, 45–75 days from sowing. Sow a little every 2–3 weeks; autumn sowings often do best.
Growing conditions
Light
Partial sun
Water
Medium water
Temperature
2–24 °C
Frost tolerance
Frost-hardy — tolerates frost
Days to maturity
45 days
Plant spacing
30 cm
How Tomatograph watches your lettuce
Tomatograph checks your local forecast every morning and only speaks up when one of these applies to your garden.
- First frost within 14 daysReminder to mulch the roots before winter.
- 3 days at 35 °C or aboveHeat-wave alert while plants are flowering or fruiting: shade and water early.
- Humidity above 80% for 48 hoursCheck for tip burn, which thrives in those conditions.
- Within a week of maturityHarvest-window reminder based on when you planted.
Lettuce questions
- When should I plant lettuce?
- Sow outdoors 2–4 weeks before your last spring frost.
- How long do lettuce seeds take to germinate?
- Usually 7–10 days at a soil temperature of 7–18 °C.
- How long until I can harvest lettuce?
- About 45–75 days after sowing, depending on variety and weather.
- How far apart should I plant lettuce?
- Allow 15–30 cm between plants.
- What grows well with lettuce?
- Good neighbours include carrot, radish, pea, cucumber.
Growing guide written by Tomatograph. Planting figures from openplantdb (CC0 1.0). Zone frost dates are averages from openplantdb (CC0 1.0).