How to grow lettuce in Australia 🥬

Lettuce prefers cool weather but tolerates a wider range than most leafy greens, especially with the right variety choice.

Lettuce can be grown from seed or seedlings. Seeds are tiny — handle carefully. Seedlings transplant well as long as the rootball isn't disturbed.

Spacing: 25–30cm between plants for head-forming types; 15–20cm for looseleaf types harvested as cut-and-come-again.

Depth: Sow seeds 3–5mm deep — barely covered. Lettuce seeds need light to germinate, so don't bury them.

Soil: Reasonable garden soil with plenty of compost. Lettuce is a relatively shallow-rooted, fast-growing plant — it needs nutrients available immediately rather than slow-release fertility.

Succession planting: For continuous harvest, sow a small batch every 2–3 weeks through the suitable season. Lettuce goes from "ready" to "bolting" in 2 weeks during warm weather.

Lettuce is highly pot-friendly — possibly the most pot-suitable salad crop.

In-ground works well for larger plantings. Lettuce makes a useful filler between slower-maturing vegetables.

Raised beds suit lettuce well. Wide rather than deep is fine.

Pots are arguably the ideal lettuce setup, particularly for urban gardeners. A 20–25cm wide pot supports 3–4 looseleaf lettuce plants for cut-and-come-again harvest. Wide shallow pots ("trough" planters) work better than deep narrow ones. Multiple succession pots provide continuous fresh salad with minimal space. Pots can also be moved into shade during hot spells to extend the productive season.

Full sun to part shade — 4 to 6 hours daily. Lettuce in afternoon shade through warm weather is less likely to bolt.

Water consistently. Dry conditions cause leaves to go bitter and accelerate bolting.

Looseleaf and Cos types: Harvest outer leaves as needed, leaving the centre to keep producing. A single plant can produce for 6–8 weeks before needing replacement.

Head-forming types (Iceberg, Butterhead): Cut the whole head when it's firm and full-sized. Plants don't regrow significantly after cutting.

Best used fresh. Lettuce stores in the fridge for about a week wrapped in damp paper or a sealed bag.

Bolting to flower in warm weather is the most common lettuce problem. Plants suddenly grow tall, leaves turn bitter, and the centre stalk lengthens. The fix is timing and variety choice — use heat-tolerant varieties in summer.

Slugs and snails love lettuce. Beer traps, copper tape around beds, iron-based snail bait (safe for pets and birds), or hand-picking after rain. Lettuce in pots is significantly less affected than ground-grown.

Aphids on tender new growth. Strong water spray, encourage ladybirds.

Tip burn — brown leaf edges — is usually a calcium uptake problem caused by inconsistent watering. Mulch and water steadily.

Damping off of seedlings — collapsing at the soil line. Don't overwater seedlings; ensure good airflow.

Plant near: Carrots, radish, beetroot, onions, chives, strawberries, brassicas.

Keep away from: Broccoli (the only specific issue — broccoli's growth habit can shade lettuce excessively). Most other vegetables are fine neighbours.

Cos (Romaine) — Tall, upright lettuce with crisp leaves. Heat-tolerant. The standard salad lettuce. Multiple sub-varieties: Little Gem (compact), Lobjoit's Green (Cos type), Paris Island.

Iceberg — Tightly-packed crisp heads. Most cool-season variety; bolts quickly in heat. Reliable in spring and autumn.

Butterhead (Boston, Bibb) — Soft, loose heads with tender leaves. Best in cool weather. Excellent fresh.

Looseleaf (Oak Leaf, Lollo Rossa, Salad Bowl) — Non-heading varieties harvested as individual leaves. Most heat-tolerant of the lettuce types. Productive over months. The best choice for cut-and-come-again pot growing.

Mizuna — Japanese mustard green, technically not a lettuce but often grown alongside. Peppery flavour, fast-growing, very heat-tolerant.

Red Cos / Red Oak Leaf — Red-tinged varieties. Decorative as well as edible. Same growing habits as green types.