Patchmates
Sign in
Back

Vegetable · Easy to grow

Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

A quick salad crop for most of the year in Adelaide, with leafy types ready in 6 to 8 weeks. It prefers cooler months; in summer give afternoon shade and plenty of water, or it bolts and turns bitter. Sow small amounts often for a steady supply.

When to plant where you live

Checking your area…

Add lettuce to my garden

Planting times for other areas

Varieties (4)

  • Butterhead (e.g. Buttercrunch)Soft, tender heads; good for small gardens
  • Cos (e.g. Paris Island)Upright, crisp and more heat tolerant than iceberg
  • Iceberg (e.g. Great Lakes)Crisp heads; best in autumn and spring, bolts in summer heat
  • Loose-leaf (e.g. Green Mignonette, Red Salad Bowl)Pick-and-come-again leaves; slow to bolt

Neighbours

Grows well with

From seed to plate

  1. Plant

    25 cm apart, seed 5 mm deep. Full sun or part shade.

  2. Water

    Little and often.

  3. Feed

    Liquid feed fortnightly.

  4. Pick, from about 7 weeks

    Pick outer leaves or cut whole heads.

Good to know

  • Pick outer leaves of loose-leaf types to keep plants going for weeks
  • Sow a short row every 2 to 3 weeks
  • Water in the morning so leaves dry before night

Common problems

  • Bolting and bitternessplant in cooler months or in part shade in summer; keep moist
  • Slugs and snailshand pick at night, use beer traps or iron-based baits
  • Aphidshose off, encourage hoverflies with flowering herbs nearby
  • Poor germination in hot weathersow in the evening and keep shaded and moist; seed won't germinate well above about 25 °C

If you use a garden chemical, follow the label exactly. Try organic options first, and ask the community or Plant Doctor if you're unsure.

Ask the garden helper about lettuceAny question, answered from the plant libraryHow others are growing lettuceQuestions, tips and harvests from the community

Guides

Where this information comes from

Reviewed by AI cross-check (Claude), not a horticulturist on 27 Oct 2026. Version 2.