When to plant
lettuce in the UK
Sow a short row every 2 weeks and you'll never buy a supermarket bag again. Pick outer leaves to keep it going.
Work out your own dates
Starts from the recommended sow date for your area. Sowed on a different day, or planted out late? Adjust below and the harvest moves with it.
Using the UK-average last frost · 15 April · add your postcode to tune it
Growing journey
8 weeks from planting out to harvest · Start indoors 4 weeks before planting out
Get lettuce seeds
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What lettuce need
Partial shade in summer stops it bolting. Regular water.
Spacing
25cm between plants
Give each plant room to spread. Overcrowding reduces yield.
Varieties worth growing
Little Gem
commonA small, crisp, do-everything lettuce — tight little hearts with a sweetness that soon makes the bagged sort a distant memory. It's ready in about eight weeks, takes up next to no room, and is happiest sown little and often through the cooler weeks of the year.
Charred Little Gem with Caesar dressing
Halve the hearts, brush with olive oil and char them cut-side down on a hot griddle, then drizzle with anchovy dressing and scatter with parmesan and croutons. Sweet, smoky, and not at all what you expect from a lettuce.
Lollo Rosso
commonFrilly, burgundy-tipped leaves that turn a plain salad bowl into something rather beautiful. It's pick-and-come-again, so a single plant will give you weeks of leaves — snip what you need and let the rest carry on growing.
Mixed leaf salad with shallot vinaigrette
Tear the frilly leaves, toss with a dressing of finely diced shallot, red wine vinegar, Dijon, and olive oil. The ruffled edges catch every drop.
All Year Round
commonA gentle butterhead that lives up to its name, taking cold, heat and the odd forgotten week in its stride. Sow a short row every few weeks and you'll rarely be without a soft, sweet lettuce to pick.
Butter lettuce wraps
Use whole leaves as wraps for spiced chicken, pickled carrot, fresh herbs, and a drizzle of sriracha mayo. The soft leaves cup everything perfectly.
Red Oakleaf
uncommonOak-shaped leaves in deep burgundy, the colour only deepening as the season goes on. Pick-and-come-again for months, it gives a salad the look of something served somewhere lovely — and asks very little in return.
Red oakleaf with warm goat's cheese
Arrange the burgundy leaves on a plate, top with rounds of goat's cheese grilled until golden. Drizzle with honey and scatter with toasted walnuts. The bitterness of the red leaves balances the sweet cheese perfectly.
When to sow lettuce
Based on UK average frost date. Enter your postcode for exact dates, or find your city.
Where to buy lettuce seeds
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What you'll need for lettuce
The stuff beginners wish they'd bought sooner.
Each seedling gets its own root space. Less root disturbance when planting out means faster establishment.
More in our equipment guide →Lettuce bolts in hot sun. A bit of shade extends the harvest by weeks in summer. Most beginners plant in full sun and wonder why it all goes to seed in July.
Ferric phosphate — pet-safe and organic-approved. Young plants are slug magnets. One night can finish them.
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Get your exact dates
Enter your postcode for personalised planting dates for lettuce.