Lettuce is one of the easiest plants for beginner gardeners to grow. Not only does the plant have simple needs and few problems, it also is widely used in the kitchen. From salads to burger toppings, you’ll always be able to find something to do with your lettuce, so it’s a simple winner for any homestead.
About Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the most commonly grown leafy green vegetables in the world. In the US, it is primarily used in salads when eaten, but it can be used in many other dishes. In the same family of plants as the daisy, lettuce is an annual crop with 8 major varieties. Each of the 8 primary cultivars of lettuce are grown for food production, but some of them look at bit different than what you might expect. The outliers here are Celtuce which is a variety bred for its stem rather than its leaves, and Oilseed which is a type of lettuce produced for its seed. Oilseed lettuce’s seeds are used to make a type of cooking oil and carries seeds that are roughly 50% larger than other varieties of lettuce.
The more common varieties of lettuce, and the ones we’ll be talking about today are Leaf, Romain, Iceberg, Butterhead, Summercrisp, and red leaf. Despite all looking different, the major difference in growing requirements is the time it takes for each to mature. Even within these variety groups there are breeds that have been grown to tolerate all sorts of conditions and grow at various speeds.
The Basic Conditions for Planting Lettuce
Lettuce is an incredibly easy to plant and grow because it has a wide range of tolerated temperatures, can grow outdoors from seed easily, tolerates crowding and container growth, and yields edible leaves even in non-ideal conditions. Lettuce rarely needs to be fertilized and often will grow in almost any soil, but some conditions are better than others and will produce a higher yield or faster maturity. If this is one of your first times gardening, lettuce is perhaps the most forgiving plant you can grow.
Soil Conditions for Growing Lettuce
lettuce will grow in almost any soil. That being said the ideal soil for lettuce will do best on sandy soil with a high organic material component. Lettuce likes moist soils, but it shouldn’t be in wet soil that doesn’t drain. Your basic gardening soil mixed with fresh compost will make ideal dirt for your lettuce to grow. Like most crops that you will grow, lettuce likes soils that are slightly acidic and grows best in soils with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5.
Because lettuce is so forgiving it can be ideal for planting in raised beds or acting as filler in pots and planters that have extra space. Just don’t plant it too close to other crops that will fight for nutrients in the soil.
If you do fertilize your soil beyond the addition of compost, lettuce does best with a 5-10-10 NPK fertilizer applied at 3 to 4 pounds per 100 square feet of garden space and well incorporated before planting.
While lettuce does not develop a large root system you should still avoid planting it in clay rich soils which can prevent proper drainage.
Growing Temperatures and Climates for Lettuce
Lettuce is a very temperature tolerant plant. Ideally germinated and grown in weather between 60-70F (15-21C), it can germinate above 40F (4C) and survive temperatures up to 85F (29C). Since it can germinate in low temperatures and survive until later in the hot summer sun, lettuce is often planted from spring into fall. Many people even do what is known as successive planting in which they plant more of a crop every couple of days to ensure they have a continual harvest throughout the year.
How to Plant Lettuce
While lettuce can be started indoors, because it grows so quickly and can germinate at such low temperatures it is often unnecessary to start it indoors.
If you do start lettuce indoors simply start your seeds in a seed starting mix (not potting soil) and keep them at 60-70F (15-21C) while keeping the soil moist with a mist and covering until the seeds sprout. Once the starters are sprouted give them 6-8 hours of light a day either by window or grow light. The starters can go outside any time the weather stays consistently above 40F (4C).
If you plant your lettuce directly outside plant your seeds as soon as the weather stays above 40F (4C) and put seeds a 1/4 inch to a 1/2 inch deep. Water generously on your first planting, but don’t make sure the soil isn’t puddling or retaining too much water.
Some varieties require more space and a few varieties a bit less so check your specific seeds for any indications on best growing conditions before you plant. In reality if you use a well fertilized soil in a raised bed you can actually crowd lettuce quite a bit and it will still grow just fine. When planting in a ground plot avoid crowding and space your lettuce 6-8 inches apart with rows spaced 12-18 inches apart. If avoiding crowding in a raised bed you can plant in a grid instead of leaving rows. Leaf lettuce can tolerate crowding the most with plants growing 4 inches apart. Head lettuce (Butterhead) can tolerate crowding the least and requires 10-12 inches of space even if grown in a grid.
If you want a continual crop you can plant a few more more seeds every couple of days, a technique known as successive planting. This works best if you are growing your crop in rows. If you are crowding your lettuce in a raised bed to maximize space, you cannot use successive planting as the lettuce will shade over its younger neighbors that were planted later and prevent them from getting enough sunlight.
Where you plant lettuce matters. They like 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day, which can be a bit tricky to find in some locations that have a lot of sunlight. For urban homesteaders this is best achieved by growing your lettuce next to a fence or partial blocking wall which will ensure they get direct light only during the middle hours of the day. In a more rural homestead or open garden it’s not typically worth worrying about as lettuce is hearty, so plant it where you have space. The main concern when your plants get too much sun is that they will heat up and bolt early. If they are getting too hot just be sure to harvest them as soon as they are ready to ensure you use them up before bolting occurs. Bolting can make lettuce leaves super bitter and spoil them for salads.
Growing and Caring for Lettuce After Planting
Lettuce is incredibly easy to grow. It is another one of the plants that encourage some bad watering habits (like celery) because it wants to be watered lightly and often, which is not best for most other plants. Despite it’s watering requirements, lettuce needs surprisingly little care and even resists most weed related issues in the garden as well.
How to Water Lettuce
Lettuce has shallow roots, which is great because you want the lettuce to focus all it’s energy on producing tasty big leaves. To keep your plants from over developing roots and underdeveloped leaves you want to make sure the soil is always moist (not wet) and water them lightly on a frequent basis. In drying climates you might water them daily, but in most places you will water them every other day or every couple of days to keep the soil moist.
A high organic content soil will hold on to moisture and drain well. If you find your soil is wet or visibly puddles your soil has too much water can can cause root rot and damage the plants. Lettuce does not like standing water and over watering should be avoided. Like most garden tests the easiest way to inspect your soil is with your hands. If you touch the soil you should be able to tell if it is dry, moist, or wet. Over wet soil is easy to pick out as pressing it lightly will leave momentary puddles in the depression. If your soil is too wet, simply let it dry out for a few days before checking again.
How to Weed Lettuce Beds
Lettuce is fairly weed tolerant. Since lettuce has very shallow roots weeds with more invasive root systems are not going to be much of a problem for the lettuce. That being said you should still weed your lettuce beds whenever you get the chance. Since you’ll be out there checking your soil to see if you need to water on a near daily basis, you should also pull small weeds early then too. Pulling weeds early and often saves you on much harder labor later and can keep the weeds from going to seed which only makes the problem worse.
How Long Does Lettuce Take to Grow?
Most leaf varieties of lettuce reach maturity in about 30 days and are one of the quickest plants you can grow in your garden. That being said, the average time from seed to harvest for lettuce is about 45-55 days with larger head lettuce varieties taking 6-8 weeks to reach full maturity. This is still rather quick when compared to many other crops so lettuce is considered a fairly quick to grow crop.
Common Lettuce Pests
While lettuce is very easy to grow, there are many pests that like to eat it as much as we do. Aphids are a big problem for lettuce as they can eat the whole plant. Aphids also spread plant diseases and mold so they’re something to watch out for. We’re not a fan of putting pesticides on food crops and aphids are often resistant to most insecticide treatments anyway. A better solution is to encourage natural predators like lady bugs. These predators eat the aphids and protect your lettuce.
Lettuce also attracts slugs, snails, and caterpillars. There’s not much to do for caterpillars other than pick them off as you find them, but slugs and snails can be warded against with common bait traps fairly easily. If you grow your lettuce in a raised bed, you can put a barrier to ward off slugs around the lip of the bed. This can be done with a variety of different products, but the most effective is a very small salt trough affixed around the bed’s outer perimeter. Copper tape is another solution that companies sell, but many many slugs and snails won’t be deterred by it, so make sure the solution you get is well proven.
Harvesting Lettuce
Lettuce has three major ways it can be harvested. You can pick the whole head of lettuce at once which is easily dun by uprooting it or cutting it with a knife. Alternatively you can pick leaves as you need them working from the outside in. Finally, the weirdest way you can harvest lettuce is by trimming it off a few inches above the base and letting it regrow!
Lettuce is so simple and so hearty that the leaf varieties can simply get a shave and then keep growing. This only works on varieties that don’t grow large full heads, but even still it is quite remarkable that it works at all. Despite this you can only get a few harvests out of one plant and the leaves will be slower to regrow each time.
Because lettuce grows so quickly the best way to harvest it is by taking the whole head and if the season allows, replant another. A modest raised bed with successive planting techniques can yield a few heads a week for the whole growing season. In picking your lettuce this way ensure you uproot the whole plant before replanting your next crop. It is best to cut the lettuce head off, then remove the root system separately.
How to Store Lettuce From the Garden
Lettuce should be stored in the fridge in a container lined with paper towels or some other absorbent material. If you have a humidity draw, keep lettuce away from it. The dryer you keep your lettuce the longer it will last in the fridge. Many people recommend plastic bags to store lettuce, but we prefer to use reusable containers, either glass storage containers or Tupperware.
How Long Does Lettuce Keep For?
While lettuce is easy to grow, on average it will only keep in the fridge for 7 to 10 days. Fresh lettuce from the garden can keep longer if stored properly, but you should be trying to use your lettuce up as quickly as possible. If you want to keep your lettuce for as long as you can, avoid picking it until you are ready to use it. While in the ground lettuce can stay harvestable for quite awhile. Since lettuce requires high temperatures to bolt, you can keep your lettuce in the garden so long as the weather stays cool. Simply pick what you need as you need it and you’ll always have lettuce on hand.
Growing Lettuce in Your Home Garden
Lettuce is the perfect crop for the homesteader who is just starting out. It’s wildly useful, easy to grow, and takes very little effort to maintain and trouble shoot. While not everyone is a huge fan of salads, a fresh salad pulled right from your garden is by and far the most amazingly healthy snack you grow at home. With it being so easy to grow lettuce there’s no excuse to not go give it a try yourself.