Growing Lettuce in the Home Garden

Lettuce is a popular vegetable and used extensively in both the home kitchen and restaurants. Its popularity continues to grow as people become more health-conscious and look for healthy foods to eat. Lettuce can be either a side dish or the main course and doesn’t need even need to be cooked! Lettuce is a fairly easy-to-grow vegetable and offers many varieties to try in your home garden.

What is lettuce, anyway?

Lettuce is a cool-season fairly hardy vegetable, usually planted by seed in the springtime after the last frost and in later summer for a fall harvest. Lettuce does not tolerate heat and high temperatures. There four kinds of lettuce for you to consider for your home garden (as well as many varieties, or cultivars).

Four Kinds of Lettuce

Crisphead Lettuce

Crisphead, sometimes known as iceberg lettuce (iceberg lettuce is a cultivar of crisphead) is probably the most common type of lettuce you will find in supermarkets. Crisphead is firm, round and has light green colored, crisp leaves. Crisphead lettuce does not tolerate heat well and requires a long growing period making it difficult to grow in the home garden. Crisphead takes 70-80 days to mature.

Butterhead Lettuce

Butterhead, also known as bib lettuce, forms heads like crisphead but has looser, softer heads with leaves that are less compact. The outer leaves are either green-colored or brownish with cream inner leaves. Butterhead matures in about 70 days after sowing.

Leaf Lettuce

Leaf lettuce does not form a head and its leaves grow loosely. The color of the leaves can vary greatly from red to purple to bronze. This type of lettuce is one of the easiest and quickest to grow in the home garden. Leaf lettuce matures in about 40-45 days.

Romaine Lettuce

Romaine, also known as cos lettuce, grows in an upright habit with darker green outer leaves and lighter inner leaves. The leaves are firmer than other lettuce and have an almost sweet flavor. Romaine lettuce is increasing in popularity and is a favorite choice in salads. Romaine takes approximately 70 days to mature.

Optimal Growing Conditions for Lettuce

Lettuce grows best in full sun (6 hours a day), cooler temperatures, and moist well-drained soil. As a cool season vegetable, lettuce can tolerate a light frost. In fact, lettuce can loose its taste and form if grown in too much heat. Ideal temperatures for growing lettuce are between 45 and 65 degrees. Lettuce is forgiving of soil types but does grow best in fertile, sandy-loam soil. It should be well draining and not compact or heavy. Organic matter can be added to improve soil consistency.

How to Plant Lettuce

Butterhead and romaine can be grown either from seed or transplants. In northern states, crisphead needs to be transplanted from seedlings because of the long growing season it requires.

Lettuce seeds are very small so the bed needs to be well prepared. The area of planting should be well cultivated and all clods and lumps need to be either removed or well integrated into the soil. Prior to adding fertilizer you should have a soil test performed. You can contact your local extension office for directions. If you have not performed a soil test you can apply a general 5-10-10 fertilizer at a rate of 3-4 pounds per 100 square feet. Be sure to water well after planting.

You can plant successively throughout spring (about 10-14 days apart) for multiple harvests. Putting organic mulch down will help keep the soil temperature consistent and reduce moisture loss.

Spacing of Lettuce Seeds and Plants

Lettuce seeds can be sown for either single or wide rows. Wide rows can be 12-15 inches across. Seeds should be planted about 1/4th to 1/2 inch in depth. Plant about 10 seeds per foot. The seeds should be watered right after planting.

Leave 18 inches between rows for leaf lettuce and 24 inches for the other varieties. Lettuce usually needs to be thinned to prevent overcrowding. Leaf lettuce should be thinned to about 4-5 inches between plants; other varieties can be spaced about 6-8 inches apart.

Caring for Lettuce

Keep lettuce seeds moist and do not let dry out during the germination period. Weeding should be done with care as lettuce plants have very shallow and delicate root systems. During growth keep the plants frequently and lightly watered for best results.

Suggested Varieties of Lettuce to Grow

Crisphead
Mesa 659 (fall), Ithaca

Butterhead
Bibb
Salad Bibb
Summer Bibb
Buttercrunch
Tania
Tom
Thumb (miniature)

Leaf
Salad Bowl
Grand Rapids
Black Seeded Simpson
Slobolt
Oakleaf
Green Ice
Prizehead
Red Sails
Lollo Rosso
Ruby
Red Fire

Romaine
Valmaine
Parris Island Cos

Common Questions and Answers About How to Grow Lettuce

Can I eat bolted lettuce?

When your lettuce plant begins the process of bolting (also called “going to seed”), that quickly growing flowering stalk that catapults out of the center of the plant starts draining the rest of the lettuce’s leaves of their sweetness and  vitality. As a result, your homegrown lettuce leaves become more bitter and less delicious the longer the flowering stalk is permitted to remain on the plant. That means lettuce that has bolted is likely to have an altered flavor that ranges somewhere between vile and less than appetizing.

However, the lettuce is edible despite having bolted, so if you can stomach it, feel free to eat it. Only harvest and consume the leaves of your bolted lettuce that are light to medium green, though—leaves that have darkened with bolting will be too tough and bitter to eat. Learn all about how to delay the bolting of your lettuce plants for as long as possible by reading our article Preventing Bolted Lettuce.

Does lettuce grow back every year?

Lettuce is grown as an annual and does not grow back every year.

Does lettuce keep growing?

When you harvest lettuce using the “cut and come again” method, it will continue to grow and regenerate its leaves many times before eventually going to seed at the end of the season. To harvest lettuce so that it will keep growing, use clean, sterilized shears to clip away only the leaves you need about an inch above the crown where all the leaves meet. Only harvest the leaves you need to use for each day. You should always leave at least one third of the leaves intact so that the lettuce will continue to grow. If your lettuce begins to bolt by sending up a flowering stalk from the center of the plant, snip off the flowering stalk to slow the bolting process a bit, and you’ll be able to continue harvesting from your lettuce plant a little while longer. If you don’t snip off the flowering stalk when you see it, the leaves of your lettuce plant will become bitter as it draws energy and resources away from the rest of the plant.

Does lettuce like manure?

Manure, compost, or another organic material can be worked into the soil where you will be planting lettuce before the season begins. These soil amendments pack the soil full of nutrition to help lettuce grow healthy and strong. Simply spread manure or your desired organic material over the area where you will be growing lettuce, then work it into the soil to a depth of four to six inches. Manure is especially high in nitrogen,

Does lettuce need fertilizer?

Lettuce plants do best when they receive fertilizer and the soil is amended with organic material before they are planted. About every two weeks once lettuce plants have their first true leaves, gardeners should apply a balanced water-soluble or granular fertilizer. Look for a fertilizer where the three numbers separated by hyphens are equal or as close to equal as possible, such as a 5-5-5 or 10-10-10 blend. Lettuce plants do best when they get a dose at half the strength directed on the package every two weeks.

Before sowing lettuce seeds, gardeners should work several inches of well-rotted manure, aged compost, fish emulsion, or another nutritious organic material into the top six to 12 inches of soil where lettuce will be planted. It’s best to amend soil in the fall before planting in the spring so there’s plenty of time for the additive to break down and release its nutrients into the soil before lettuce is planted.

Does lettuce need full sun?

Lettuce plants growing in full sun that receive at least six hours of direct sunlight each day will produce leaves the fastest, but lettuce plants will tolerate growing in partial shade as well. As a matter of fact, in hot climates or warm times of year, some shade in the afternoon hours goes a long way toward saving lettuce plants from the stress of exposure to the beating sun.

Does lettuce need sun to germinate?

Yes, lettuce leaves require sufficient sunlight so they will germinate successfully. That’s why these tiny seeds are planted so shallowly—as well as the reason seeds may fail to sprout if they’re buried too deeply when they’re sown.

How deep are lettuce roots?

The depth of a lettuce plant’s root system can vary depending on the variety you’re growing and your climate and soil type. In most cases, though, the bulk of a lettuce plant’s root system is contained in the top six inches of soil. The taproot, however, can extend from 28 inches all the way to a depth exceeding six feet underground.

How do I preserve lettuce from my garden?

Lettuce is best preserved wrapped in paper towels and either sealed into a plastic storage container or wrapped in foil and stored in the refrigerator in the crisper drawer. Lettuce keeps best between 32 and 35 degrees Fahrenheit, so if your crisper has a temperature setting, crank it down as cold as possible. However, since the best way to harvest most lettuce is the cut-and-come-again method, your lettuce should usually be on the plant in your garden until you need to use it.

How do you know when lettuce is ready to pick?

You can wait for lettuce to mature completely, harvest it as baby lettuce, or harvest it at the microgreen stage. Most gardeners begin to harvest lettuce leaves from the plant once the leaves have reached four inches long. Simply clip away as many leaves as you need at a time, about an inch above the crown of the plant where all the leaves meet, and the plant will continue to grow, replacing leaves so you can harvest from it again.

How do you prune lettuce?

Lettuce plants don’t need to be pruned in the sense that some other plants do, where a plant is trimmed back early in the season so it will grow bushier and more compact. Simply trim off any leaves you wish to use while the plant is growing, about an inch above the crown where all the leaves meet, so the plant can continue to grow. When you harvest this way, using the “cut and come again” method, the leaves will be replaced as the plant keeps growing, so you can harvest many times throughout the season.

How do you stop bolting?

It’s not possible to completely stop your lettuce plants from bolting. Going to seed is inevitable as a natural part of the plant’s life cycle, and nothing a gardener does will stop it from happening. However, there are things you can do to slow down the plant’s tendency to bolt and delay the process as long as possible. First, set yourself up for success by choosing bolt-resistant varieties of lettuce. Just look for the words “bolt resistant” on seed packets or in product descriptions. These lettuce varieties have been proven to hold out longer against bolting, even in the warm weather that tends to cause plants to go to seed. You should also clip the flowering stalk off once it appears to extend the life of your plant a bit further. When you trim the flowering stalk off, your plant can continue to grow for a little while longer, and the leaves won’t turn bitter like they would if you left the flowering stalk on, as it  draws energy away from the rest of the plant’s foliage. Finally, harvesting properly from your lettuce plant can help stave off bolting as long as possible. Make sure that you use clean, sterilized shears whenever you harvest to prevent spreading disease in your garden. For heading varieties, simply cut the top two thirds of the plant off. Other varieties of lettuce can be harvested using the cut and come again method, in which you clip off only the leaves you will use immediately. Trim off leaves about an inch above the crown of the plant, where all the leaves meet. When you harvest this way, start by taking the outer leaves at the base of the plant, and work your way up toward the center of the plant. Never remove more than two thirds of the lettuce plant’s foliage at a time so it will continue growing after you’ve harvested.

How long does it take to grow lettuce?

There’s a great deal of diversity in exactly how long it will take for your lettuce to grow from a seed to a mature plant with leaves that are ready to harvest, depending on which varieties of lettuce you choose to grow in your garden. Most types of leaf lettuce will be ready to pick in an average of 45 to 55 days, with heading varieties of lettuce taking a while longer to develop. Romaine lettuce, for example, takes between 75 and 85 days to ripen, and crisphead lettuce matures in a 70 to 100-day period. If your seeds came in a packet or if there’s information available about your variety of lettuce online, consult those specifics provided by the manufacturer—they often list an expected number of days to harvest to help gardeners plan ahead.

How many inches of soil does lettuce need?

Lettuce sown directly into garden soil or in a raised bed can thrive in just 12 to 18 inches of loosened, rich soil. Lettuce plants that grow in containers can do well in a pot that’s just six inches deep.

How much nutrients does lettuce need?

The nutrients lettuce most needs to be present in the soil include calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. Nitrogen is especially essential for lettuce to grow healthy and strong, but too much nitrogen can result in tipburn or soft rot. The exact amount of nitrogen needed will depend on what has previously been grown in the soil, how much lettuce will be grown, soil type, and other factors. For example, sandy soil will need more nitrogen available for crops due to leaching. To determine what nutrients are already present in your soil so you know what may need to be added, you can contact your local Extension office to have a soil test conducted.

How much sun and water does lettuce need?

Lettuce plants need full sun to partial shade, or between six and 10 hours of sunlight each day, although in warmer regions, lettuce plants will benefit from the protection of shade in the afternoon. Water lettuce plants twice a week, or once every four or five days, to a depth of six inches. If you aren’t sure whether it’s time to water your lettuce plants, you can check the moisture level of the soil with your finger. Just stick your finger into the soil about an inch close to where lettuce plants are growing. If the soil feels damp to the touch and dirt sticks to your skin, the ground is still moist, and the lettuce plants don’t need to be watered just yet.

How much water does a lettuce plant need per day?

Lettuce plants do not need to be watered daily. Instead, water them twice a week, or once every four or five days, to a depth of six inches. If you aren’t sure whether your lettuce needs to be watered, you can check the moisture level of the soil with your finger. Just stick your finger an inch into the soil near where lettuce plants are growing. If the ground is moist to the touch and earth sticks to your finger, the ground is still damp, and plants do not yet need to be watered.

How often should lettuce be watered?

Lettuce plants should be watered about twice a week, or once every four or five days, to a depth of six inches. If you aren’t sure whether it’s time to water your lettuce plants, you can use your finger to test the moisture level of the soil. Just stick a finger into the soil near where your lettuce plants are growing about an inch deep. If the soil feels moist to the touch or sticks to your finger, the ground is still damp, and it’s not time to water your plants just yet. If it seems like the ground isn’t retaining moisture well enough, and you’re having to water your lettuce plants too often, consider adding a layer of mulch about two inches thinck. Mulch will help keep the soil cool and prevent moisture from evaporating, keeping it available in the ground for your plants longer

Is bolted lettuce poisonous?

While bolted lettuce tends to start losing flavor and becoming more bitter the longer the flowering stalk has been present on the plant, they are not poisonous and are safe to eat.

Is Buttercrunch lettuce cut and come again?

You can harvest Buttercrunch lettuce varieties as cut and come again if you like, picking leaves from the outside and base of the plant. Always leave a lettuce plant with at least a third of its leaves when you’re done harvesting. If you prefer, you can wait and harvest the entire head of Buttercrunch lettuce instead.

Should I let my lettuce flower?

It’s really only beneficial to allow your lettuce plants to bolt or flower if you want to collect their seeds. The flowering stalk makes the lettuce bitter the longer it stays on the plant, so if you want to keep eating the lettuce, snip the flowering stalk off as soon as you notice it. Some gardeners pull up their lettuces once they have bolted and plant a new one in their place. You can also cut them off all the way down to the ground and let them sprout again from the root system when temperatures cool down in late summer or early fall.

Should I soak lettuce seeds before planting?

Soaking lettuce seeds before planting them can help increase the germination rate, especially if temperatures are especially warm at planting time. Simply allow the seeds to soak for 16 to 24 hours in a well-lit area. Red light is most beneficial, but when it is not available, any bright light will do. Soaking seeds in a dark area, or for fewer than 16 hours, is not beneficial to germination and may actually decrease the germination rate of your lettuce seeds.

What can you do with lettuce after it bolts?

If you catch bolting soon enough, you can get a bit more growth out of your lettuce plant and prevent the leaves from becoming bitter by trimming the flowering stalk off the plant using clean, sterilized shears. Once lettuce has bolted, you can cut it back all the way to the ground and wait until temperatures cool in later summer or fall—the lettuce will sprout again for a second harvest.

Alternatively, you can donate bolted lettuce to an animal shelter where it will serve as a treat for rescued rabbits, guinea pigs, or birds. If you leave the lettuce where it is in the garden, it will function as a trap plant to attract slugs, earwigs, and pill bugs, keeping the rest of your crop safe. You will also be able to collect the seeds of bolted lettuce if you allow the seeds to form and mature. When bolted lettuce is allowed to stay in the garden and flower, it attracts beneficial pollinators that will benefit the whole garden.

What can you not plant with lettuce?

Although lettuce has so many excellent companion planting partners, there are a few plants it just doesn’t get along with—the entire brassica family, for instance. Avoid planting lettuce too close to any of the crops listed here.

• Bok choy
• Broccoli: Broccoli leaves certain chemicals called root exudates behind in the soil, which can keep lettuce seeds from germinating successfully.
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage: May hinder the growth of lettuce as well as having a negative effect on its flavor.
• Cauliflower
• Celery: May hinder the growth of lettuce.
• Chrysanthemum
• Collard greens
• Cress
• Fennel: Fennel doesn’t get along with most vegetables in the garden, so it’s smart to grow your fennel in a container.
• Garlic
• Horseradish
• Kale
• Napa cabbage
• Onions
• Parsley: May hinder the growth of lettuce.
• Parsnips
• Rutabaga
• Shallots
• Sorrel
• Turnips
• Wasabi
• Watercress

What is the best time to plant lettuce?

The best time to plant lettuce in the spring is two weeks before the last frost of the season. In the fall, plant lettuce eight weeks before the first frost date. If you aren’t sure of the frost dates in your area, refer to our article How to Learn Your Last Frost Date or Freeze Date.

What is the spacing for lettuce?

You will plant more seeds at first than will remain once they are thinned. The exact spacing depends on lettuce variety. On average, about 10 seeds are planted per foot in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Leaf lettuce plants need about four inches between plants once thinned. Romaine varieties should be thinned to stand six to eight inches apart. Head lettuce varieties should be 10 to 12 inches apart once they’re thinned out.

What month do you plant lettuce?

The exact month lettuce should be planted depends on the region in which you are gardening. In the spring, start planting lettuce two weeks before your last expected frost of the season. For fall planting, sow lettuce seeds eight weeks before the first frost of the fall. If you aren’t sure when the frost dates are in your region, refer to our article How to Learn Your Last Frost Date or Freeze Date.

When should I cut my salad leaves?

The number of days until lettuce can be cut, either as baby lettuce or as mature leaves, varies depending on the variety of lettuce you are growing. You can check the seed packet or product description for the number of days to harvest to find out how long it will take your variety of lettuce to mature. Lettuce can be cut and used as baby lettuce as soon as the leaves are large enough to make harvesting them worthwhile. Many gardeners begin harvesting lettuce once the leaves have reached a height of four inches. Simply use clean, sterilized shears to clip the leaves off the plant, and they will grow back several times.

Where is the best place to plant lettuce?

Lettuce grows best in a spot where it will get full sun (at least six hours per day), but in especially hot regions, lettuce will benefit from the protection of some afternoon shade. It requires loose soil with plenty of drainage that stays cool in order to thrive. Drainage and nutrition of soil can be improved by amending it with the addition of organic material, such as well-rotted compost or manure. A sandy, loamy soil is best, with a pH level between 6.0 and 6.5. (If you aren’t sure of the pH level of your soil, refer to our article How to Test pH in Your Soil.)

Will bolted lettuce regrow?

Some gardeners cut the flowering stalk off of lettuce plants because this allows the lettuce to live a while longer and prevents the leaves from becoming bitter, as they will otherwise do when bolting occurs. In order for lettuce to grow back if it is trimmed or pruned, the lettuce should be in its leaf formation stage, when days are remaining in its estimated days to harvest or the plant has not yet bolted. If lettuce has been allowed to bolt, you can cut the plant back to the ground (leaving roots intact), and when temperatures cool down in late summer or fall, the plant will sprout again for a second harvest.

Will lettuce grow back after cutting?

When a leaf variety of lettuce plant has not yet bolted and is still in its leaf formation stage, it will grow back after being cut. Cutting back does not work on head lettuces, as they will die back instead of regrowing. To trim leaf lettuce so it will grow back, cut the plant down to a height of one or two inches using clean, sterilized shears.

As long as you trim the lettuce back when it is in its leaf formation stage (when days remain in its estimated days to harvest and bolting has not yet begun), trimming it back should reset its growth cycle and slow down the progression toward bolting. Keep water readily available for your lettuce plant after trimming it back. The regrown head will not be as large as your first harvest was, and it may be ready to be picked in as little as two weeks.

Want to learn more about growing lettuce?

If you live in a Midwestern state visit this site for recommended Midwestern lettuce varieties.

If you live further south, check out this site for some recommended lettuce varieties for southern states.