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Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

A quick, easy cool-season green for salads. Leaf lettuces can be picked a few leaves at a time; romaine, butterhead and crisphead types form heads. Heat makes it bolt and turn bitter, so in Florida it's a fall-to-spring crop.

Growing facts

Scientific name
Lactuca sativa
Origin
Mediterranean and the Middle East
Plant size
6–12 in rosettes or heads
Growth rate
Fast
Sun
Full sun in cool weather; afternoon shade as it warms
Soil
Rich, moist soil; shallow roots need steady water
Soil pH
6.0–7.0
Pollination
Not needed for leaves
Cold hardiness
Takes light frost; bolts and turns bitter in heat
USDA zones
Cool-season annual in all zones
Harvest
30–45 days for baby leaves; 55–75 days for full heads
When to plant (zones 9–11)
Sep–Feb
When to plant (zones 5–8)
Mar, Apr, Aug, Sep
Water
About every 2 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 21 days
Taste
Mild, crisp and fresh; red and romaine types are a bit more flavorful
Nutrition
Vitamin A and vitamin K, especially in dark and red leaves

Is lettuce safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Leaves, raw or lightly cooked

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Good to know: Greens eaten raw are a common source of food poisoning. Wash well, keep pets and fresh manure out of the bed, and use only fully composted manure.
  • Good to know: Leaves get bitter once the plant starts to bolt (send up a flower stalk). Pick before then.

Pets: Safe for dogs, cats, rabbits and tortoises in small amounts; iceberg has little nutrition for pets.

How to eat and enjoy lettuce

  • Salads and sandwiches
  • Lettuce wraps
  • Grilled romaine

When it's ripe

Pick outer leaves once they're 3–4 in long, or cut whole heads when firm. Harvest in the cool morning for crispness.

Storing it

Wash, spin dry and refrigerate in a bag with a paper towel for up to a week.

Lettuce varieties (7)

  • Black Seeded Simpson

    A fast, frilly, light-green leaf lettuce.

    Taste: Mild, tender

    One of the earliest to pick.

  • Buttercrunch

    A soft, sweet butterhead lettuce that holds up a little longer in warmth.

    Taste: Buttery, sweet

  • Jericho

    A romaine bred for hot, dry conditions.

    Origin: Israel · Taste: Sweet, crisp

    One of the best lettuces for Florida's warm edges of the season.

  • Nevada

    A Batavian (summer crisp) lettuce with thick, crunchy leaves.

    Heat-tolerant and slow to bolt.

  • Parris Island Cos · also Parris Island

    A tall, dependable romaine.

    Taste: Crisp, sweet

    Tolerates some heat.

  • Red Sails

    A ruffled red leaf lettuce that's slow to bolt.

    Taste: Mild

    Holds well in warm weather.

  • Salad Bowl

    A lime-green oakleaf lettuce with deeply lobed leaves.

    Slow to bolt; good for cut-and-come-again.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing lettuces? Let Gardyn keep track.

Gardyn tells you when your lettuce needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.