How Far Apart Should You Plant Lettuce? A Simple Growing Guide

Monty Don gives gardeners advice on planting lettuce

An integral ingredient in any salad, lettuce comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Lettuce is easy to grow in most gardens and it can also be significantly cheaper than buying lettuce in the supermarket. Here is a simple growing guide for sowing and planting lettuce.

• FIVE dangerous weeds to eradicate from your green spaces
• How to get rid of flies from the house - the 3 key tricks

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Key timings

Lettuces can usually be sown between the months of March and September, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

However, the optimum time to sow lettuces may differ depending on the variety being grown, so check the specific requirements for your variety.

Lettuces will normally be ready to harvest at some point from May to November, depending on when they were planted.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Hearting type lettuces will take about 10 weeks to be ready to harvest.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

The great thing about lettuce is that if you sow it regularly, you can have a ready supply over several months of the year.

READ MORE: Gardening: Start planting leafy salads & more vegetables this month

How far apart should you plant lettuce? A simple growing guide (Image: GETTY)

How far apart should you plant lettuce? The optimum time to sow lettuces may differ depending on the variety being grown (Image: GETTY)

• How far apart should you plant tomatoes? Guide to growing tomatoes

What types of lettuce can you grow?

Many will opt to grow hearting lettuces and there are a variety of lettuces to choose from in this group.

Iceberg is one of the most popular types of lettuce out there and it is classed as a crisphead type of lettuce.

However, some might want to branch out and try growing a different lettuce, such as a cos type which has upright and oblong heads.

Butterhead lettuces are also an option, or you may want to grow salad leaf instead if you want to venture away from hearting varieties.

How far apart should you plant lettuce? If you sow lettuce regularly, you can have a ready supply over several months of the year (Image: GETTY)

How far apart should you plant lettuce?

Gardeners' World advises planting lettuce at a depth of 1cm in a trench, 15cm apart and allowing 30cm between rows.

In terms of soil, lettuces should be sown in springtime in moist soil or compost, covered by a very thin layer of vermiculite or compost.

Gardeners' World adds: "If sowing in the ground, prepare the soil by digging in lots of well-rotted garden compost beforehand.

"This helps to prevent lettuces bolting or running to seed in hot or dry weather, especially in light soils."

The seedlings should then be thinned out when they are strong enough to be handled, so they sit about 10 to 20cm apart.

Make sure to give the lettuce regular watering and take steps to prevent pests from getting to them.

DON'T MISS: How to grow an avocado tree in just 5 easy steps [INSIGHT]Gardening: DIY hacks for making your own self-watering system [ANALYSIS]Monty Don on ‘significant’ time of year as he marks garden milestone [VIDEO]

How far apart should you plant lettuce? Make sure to give the lettuce regular watering and take steps to prevent pests from getting to them (Image: GETTY)

• How often should I water my plants? The 10 rules of watering plants
• When to plant tomatoes outside in UK - top 4 tips for best tomatoes

• When and how to plant grass seed

How can you grow salad leaves?

Salad leaves are different from hearting lettuces, but they are also very easy to grow in the garden.

Miracle-Gro’s Gardening Guru, Kate Turner, has shared five easy steps for growing salad leaves below:

Preparation

Ms Turner said: "Salads grow well in a bed but are also great in a container as long as it has drainage holes.

"Add good compost like Performance Organics Fruit & Veg compost".

Gardening news, tips and inspiration plus selected offers and competitions Subscribe Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

Get More of Our News on Google

Set Daily Express as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.

Sowing

Ms Turner recommends sowing seeds "thinly on to damp compost, 10mm deep" and covering the seeds with a "thin layer of soil".

Watering

Ms Turner added: "Keep the soil damp at all times, but without overwatering."

Feeding

"Once they are growing strongly feed plants to encourage healthy leafy growth.

"I would recommend using a balanced liquid feed like the Miracle-Gro Purpose Concentrated liquid plant food", Ms Turner said.

Harvesting

Ms Turner continued: "Harvest them as and when needed. You can pick individual leaves from the outside of the plants if growing ‘cut & come again’ types using scissors.

"It is best to cut in the morning, as the plants will be at their freshest."

Gardening Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments Most Read Most Commented Latest on Gardeners' World Gardeners' World host Monty Don shares heartbreaking news days after tragic loss Gardeners' World's Monty Don realised 'I'm going to die' after serious health ordeal Gardeners' World star Monty Don announces heartbreaking death in emotional statement Gardeners' World's Monty Don names January job he 'always' does whatever the weather Gardeners' World expert Adam Frost names seven plants he's growing now to attract wildlife Stop binning cardboard because it has clever garden use Foxes stop digging up your garden when you put 2 items in flowerbeds ‘I’m a plant expert – here’s 3 houseplants for every room in the home’ Gardeners urged to put torn up teabags in garden in February Gardener names five flower bulbs to plant in February for the ‘best looking' spring garden Gardeners urged do this now for spring success with tool 'taking the hard work' out of it UK households urged to put egg cartons in gardens this February Roses will bloom all summer if you follow Monty Don’s simple pruning rule Four gardening jobs that need to be done this month Lawns will grow back thicker after winter if gardeners avoid doing one task in February Blue tits will flock to your garden if you make 1 easy change Five easy to grow flowers that will add a ‘stunning’ shade of blue to your garden Weeds will not grow in gardens if you place 1 household staple outside in February Anyone looking to attract birds to their garden needs to do Monty Don’s one daily task now Remove all patio and fence stains in 24 hours without scrubbing using ‘game-changer’ item Resident livid after spotting neighbour's invasive plant in garden Three February gardening jobs that can ‘make or break’ your blooming spring garden Climbing roses will grow bigger blooms this year with one task done before January ends Monty Don always prunes three common plants in February to get ‘extra flowers’ by summer Gardeners urged to put out rice and porridge oats in the first week of February I asked five gardening experts what to do with lawns this month – all said the same thing Paths and driveways will never be icy if cleared with 1 item – not salt

Daily Express uses notifications to keep you updated

Keep me updated No thanks