Growing Lettuce
Lettuce is easy almost everywhere in the country except here in a South Carolina summer. Get the timing right and it’s one of the least fussy things you’ll ever grow.
How to Grow Lettuce
Planting
Lettuce is a cool-season crop, and the biggest mistake we see gardeners make is trying to push it through a Southern summer. Direct-sow as soon as the soil can be worked in late February or March, and again starting in September for a fall and winter crop, our winters here are mild enough that lettuce will often keep going right through them under a light frost cloth. Sow seed shallow, just barely covered, since it needs light to germinate well.
Watering & feeding
Keep soil consistently moist. Lettuce has shallow roots and dries out fast, especially as the weather starts to warm. Feed lightly every 2–3 weeks; too much nitrogen makes for big, floppy, bitter leaves instead of the crisp ones you actually want.
Harvest
Once daytime temperatures push past 80°F, lettuce will bolt, sending up a bitter flower stalk with no bringing it back once it starts. Beat the heat by choosing heat-tolerant varieties and tucking lettuce into the afternoon shade of taller plants like tomatoes or peppers. Harvest outer leaves as a cut-and-come-again crop for the longest season, or take the whole head once it’s full and firm. Succession-sow a new row every two weeks through the cool months for a steady supply instead of one big crop that bolts all at once.
Grows Well With
Tuck lettuce into the shade of your tallest tomatoes or peppers. The afternoon shade buys real time before it bolts in the summer heat. See all our companion planting pairs →
When to Plant
Direct sow February through March, and again in September for a fall crop. Cooler nights in September mean less bolting risk. See the full planting calendar →
Buy the Seeds We Use
From the Seed Center
Shop Lettuce Seeds
$1.25
From the Kitchen: Recipes Using Lettuce
Looking for recipe ideas? Browse the full Recipe Book.