Lettuce
Crisp, tender, and endlessly varied, lettuce is the garden's most rewarding quick crop - ready in weeks, not months.
Lettuce needs its photo.
Identify a Lettuce in Rooted and share it, and yours could become the field guide image.
The Garden's Fastest Reward
Lettuce comes in four main types - looseleaf, butterhead, romaine, and crisphead - each with dozens of cultivars ranging from frilly red oak-leaf to tightly wrapped iceberg. That variety means there is always a lettuce suited to your climate, container, or kitchen preference.
A cool-season crop at heart, lettuce thrives when daytime temperatures sit between 60-70 degrees F. As days lengthen and heat builds, plants bolt - sending up a flower stalk and turning leaves bitter. Timing your sowings around that window is the single biggest key to great lettuce.
Planting & care
Sow seeds directly 1/8 in deep, or transplant seedlings 6-12 in apart depending on type. Lettuce has shallow roots, so loosen the top 6 in of soil and work in compost before planting. Start seeds outdoors 2-4 weeks before your last frost date in spring, or 6-8 weeks before first fall frost for an autumn harvest.
Keep soil consistently moist - lettuce wilts fast in dry conditions and stress triggers bitterness. Mulch around plants to retain moisture and keep roots cool. Feed lightly with a balanced or nitrogen-forward fertilizer every 2-3 weeks. In hot climates, afternoon shade from a taller crop like tomatoes buys extra weeks before bolting.
Cut-and-Come-Again Harvesting
For looseleaf varieties, harvest outer leaves when they reach 3-4 in rather than pulling the whole plant. The center will keep producing new growth for multiple harvests, stretching your yield by weeks. Harvest in the morning when leaves are plump with moisture for the best texture and shelf life.
How much sun does Lettuce need?
Lettuce grows best in full sun to partial shade.
How often should you water Lettuce?
Give it about 1-1.5 in per week.
When is Lettuce ready to harvest?
Lettuce is usually ready in 45-80 days from transplant, depending on type.