How far apart should I plant lettuce?

25 cm apart in the row, with rows 30 cm apart. In a square foot garden, that's 4 per square.

What grows well with lettuce?

Carrot, Radish, Beetroot, Strawberry, Onion.

Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

In a typical UK garden, sow indoors late February to early April, sow outside late March to early September, plant out late March to early October, and harvest early March to late November.

When to sow, plant and harvest

Frost dates

Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.

Sow indoors: late February to early Aprilmid-September to mid-October
Sow outdoors: late March to early September
Plant out: late March to early October
Harvest: early March to late November

Spacing: 25 cm apart, rows 30 cm apart
Square foot: 4 per square (30 cm squares)
Sowing depth: 0.5 cm
Ready in: 40 to 60 days from planting out
Grows to: 25 cm
Hardiness: Hardy to about -4 °C
Sun: Copes with some shade
Crops for: About 4 weeks

Growing tip

Sow a short row every two to three weeks; seed may not germinate in soil above 25 °C.

Neighbours

Grows well with

Leafy greens are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works

Guides

When to plant

Lettuce from March to November, and why summer sowings fail

Sow lettuce outdoors from late March to early September, a short row every two to three weeks. Start indoors from late February for the first crop, and again from mid-September for lettuce under cover through the autumn.

More leafy greens

Where these figures come from

Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For lettuce, we used:

Grow lettuce with VegLog

Add lettuce to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.