How to Grow Lettuce

It’s quick-growing, fuss-free and can be grown just about anywhere. What are we talking about? Lettuce of course! Whether you’re growing it for sweet, firm hearts or for a pick-and-mix of leaves, you won’t want to run short of this dependable staple. So, if you fancy growing more of it you’re in the right place - here’s our sowing-to-harvest guide to lettuce! Read on or watch the video for more.

• Soil Preparation
• Sowing
• Planting
• Plant Care
• Harvesting

You can grow lettuce in any well-drained, fertile soil - soil improved over time with plenty of compost is ideal. You can even grow lettuces in pots or tubs of potting soil. Lettuce prefers a bright, open position with good air circulation to promote strong, disease-free growth.

Lettuce is a cool-season crop, so in hot climates, you may get better results growing it in a cooler, shadier spot, especially as the young plants start out. Either way, lettuces don’t take long to reach maturity, which makes them an excellent choice for growing in between slower-to-establish crops such as corn or leeks.

When to sow lettuce seeds in the UK

Wondering when to sow lettuce seeds in the UK? Well, we recommend that you make the earliest sowings under cover from late winter to grow on in greenhouse or hoop house beds for a super-early harvest. Then from early spring, it’s time to sow for growing outside. Sow in batches, about once a month, for a continuous harvest. The last sowing of the season, made at the end of summer, will be of winter lettuces.

Direct sowing lettuce

Sowings may be made directly into prepared soil or into module trays of multipurpose potting soil. To sow directly, remove any weeds then rake the soil level to a fine, crumbly texture. Mark out shallow drills, 8-12 inches or 20 to 30cm apart, using a string line as a guide if this helps.

Then, sow the tiny seeds in clusters – a pinch of seeds every 4in or 10cm. Backfill the seed drills, and label them with the variety and water. Thin the seedlings once they’re up to leave the strongest plant at each point. Then a few weeks on, thin again to leave plants  8-12 inches - or 20-30cm - apart.

Sowing into plug trays

We’ve all dealt with not having enough room in our gardens for new plants, but there’s always a way around it! 

You want to give your lettuce the space it deserves, so why not get them started in plug trays and plant them in your garden further down the road?

You’re going to want to fill the plug trays with soil then sow a pinch of about 3-5 seeds into each plug, onto the surface. Cover the seeds with the very finest layer of potting soil, then water the trays by placing them into reservoirs of water so they can soak up moisture from the bottom. 

Remove the trays once you can see that the surface is damp, then continue to water whenever the potting soil dries out at the surface. Starting lettuces off in plug trays stops those pesky slugs from eating your seedlings, whilst also offering neater results at planting time.

These hardy plants will happily sit out the winter, often with little or no protection in milder climates, to give the first outdoor harvests of spring. Or plant winter lettuces undercover for a reliable supply of leaves throughout the winter.

If you have chosen to sow your lettuce seeds into plug trays, the young plants are ready to go into the ground once the roots have filled their plugs. Space them 8-12 inches or 20-30cm apart in both directions. Carefully remove the plants from their plugs then dig a hole for each lettuce plant. Firm it in, and once you’ve finished planting water settle the soil around the roots.

Keep your early or late-season lettuces toasty and protected by laying row covers or horticultural netting & fleece over plants to trap that valuable warmth. Don’t forget about low polythene hoop houses or tunnels - they’re another excellent way to cheat the seasons.

Water plants in dry weather to ensure robust growth and to prevent your lettuce from bolting. When growing lettuce, make sure you keep an eye out for weeds and use a sharp hoe to decapitate them as they appear or hoik out the occasional intruder by hand.

Slugs & snails aren’t a major problem when the ground is kept weed-free and watering is limited to a thorough soaking once or twice a week, but extra measures to keep a check on slugs include beer traps and the removal of shady hiding places like old pots.

You’ve done the hard bit! The most rewarding part of growing lettuce from seed is harvesting your goods. Harvest whole heads of lettuce in one go by simply pulling up the plant from the ground. Lift them just before you need them for the best taste and the freshest leaves.

Or you can even enjoy your lettuces over a longer period by cutting just a few leaves from each plant at a time. Called cut-and-come-again harvesting, taking leaves like this not only prolongs the cropping period – so individual plants crop for anywhere up to two months – it will also give you many more leaves. Simply cut or twist the leaves from the stem, taking care not to damage it. Leave the central leaves untouched to grow on for the next cut.

What are you waiting for? Your growing journey starts right here at Mr Fothergill’s! Shop our lettuce seeds today and let us help get your lettuce garden going.

If you have any further questions about how to grow lettuce or have curiosities about any of our other products, don’t hesitate to contact us or take a deeper dive into our gardening blog!