Lettuce
- How to grow Lettuce | Growing Guides
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- Growing Guides Vegetables and herbs
Lettuce is a simple, quick-growing crop to grow at home. Shop-bought lettuce comes wrapped in single-use plastic and is one of the most common sources of food waste so growing your own to harvest as you need is a great sustainable swap.
| Growing calendar | |
|---|---|
| Sow indoors | Feb - mid Mar, then Oct - Nov |
| Sow outdoors | Mid Mar - Jun, then Sep |
| Plant out/transplant | Mid Mar - July, then Oct - Nov |
| Harvest | Jul - Mar |
How to grow lettuce
Regularly sow lettuce seed 0.5cm deep in pots or rows. Thin or transplant seedings to 15-30cm apart. Use cloches or grow indoors/under cover to extend the growing season.
Water in dry weather to avoid tough and bitter leaves and during the morning to discourage disease.
Harvesting and using lettuce
Pick individual leaves of 'loose leaf' lettuce as needed. Cut 'hearting' varieties when the central leaves are fairly firm. Regularly cut seedling leaves.
Tips on growing lettuce
- Protect your lettuce from slugs and snails
- If you're growing lettuce in a greenhouse or under a cloche, keep it well ventilated.
- Sow salad every week or two to keep you in leaves for as long as possible.
| Growing notes | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Germination time | 6-12 days |
| Average time to harvest | 6-8 weeks for loose leaf, 8-14 for hearting |
| Equipment needed | Slug protection |
| Average plant size | 20cm tall and wide |
| Family group to grow with | Asteraceae: chicory, salsify |
| Seed saving notes | Annual, self-pollinating |
| Key nutritional content | Vitamins A and C, folate |