Lettuce: The World's Favorite Salad Plant

"Lettuce" is synonymous with "salad" globally. Cultivated for over 2,000 years, it remains the most popular salad plant.

About This Plant

Don't think all lettuce is the same! A wonderful diversity of varieties exists, each with distinct flavor, texture, and color—allowing remarkably different salads just by varying your lettuce choices. Lettuce is a cool-weather crop. Sow seeds as soon as the ground can be worked in spring, followed by small sowings every 10–14 days until late spring in warm areas or early summer in the North.

Site Selection

Select a site with full sun and well-drained soil. Light midday shade can extend the harvest season. Loosen soil to 12–15 inches and mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost.

Planting Instructions

For earliest harvest, start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost and transplant after 3 weeks. Sow indoors ½ inch apart, ¼ inch deep, in 4-inch-deep flats. Transplant spacing: 3–4 inches for leaf lettuce, 6–8 inches for Cos and loose-headed types, 12–16 inches for firm-headed types. Direct-sow outdoors ¼–½ inch deep in beds or rows. Plant heat-resistant varieties for late spring sowings in semi-shade to extend harvest into summer. Start fall crops in flats or direct-sow in midsummer (North) or late summer (central/South).

Care

Mulch in early summer to keep soil cool. Water during summer if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. Pests and diseases are rare in home plantings. Contact your extension office for slug, earwig, or whitefly controls if needed.

Harvesting

Harvest leaf lettuce as soon as leaves are large enough to eat. For steady harvest, cut heading types before full size. Harvest in early morning when leaves are crisp and moisture-filled.