Lettuce
Fast, forgiving salad green; sow little and often for a continuous supply and avoid sowing through peak summer heat, which causes bolting.
- Sun
- partial sun
- Water
- moderate
- Spacing
- 30cm
- Harvest
- Ready in 40-70 days
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Grows in
- Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago, Invercargill / Southland
- Expected yield
- 1 head per plant, 40-70 days after sowing
- Cost to grow
- ~$8 NZD
- Grocery value
- ~$35 NZD
- Companion plants
- Carrots, Cucumber, Radishes, Strawberries
- Plants to avoid nearby
- Beans
- Common diseases
- Downy mildew
- Common pests
- Aphids, Slugs and snails, Whitefly
When to plant by region
In Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson and Tasman: January-May and August-December. In Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago and Invercargill / Southland: January-March and August-December.
Growing stages
Germination & sowing1-2 weeks
- Sow little and often rather than all at once, for a continuous supply as this crop is best grown
- Avoid sowing through peak summer heat, which pushes plants to bolt instead of growing on steadily
Seedling & establishment
- Thin seedlings to give heads room to develop
- Slugs and snails are a major risk to soft young seedlings, especially in damp weather
Vegetative growth
- Keep soil evenly moist; erratic watering stresses plants and can trigger early bolting
- Check leaf undersides for aphids and whitefly building up
- Downy mildew can appear in humid or overcrowded conditions; good airflow helps
Harvest40-70 days from sowing
- Harvest outer leaves or whole heads before hot weather causes bolting
- Slugs and snails remain a risk right up to harvest, especially after rain