Growing Guides How to grow winter lettuce

Date Published:

15/10/2007

Sowing

Lettuce is not very fussy about the soil it's sown in, although working in plenty of organic matter (either well-rotted compost or manure) will help improve your crop.

Make sure your plants have a steady supply of water and ideally allocate them a sheltered spot which gets the early morning sun.

Despite their hardiness, plants grown outside in the depths of winter may need protecting with cloches (small transparent covers, available from garden centres) in order to maintain good leaf quality.

Seed can be sown directly outside throughout most of the autumn. Stretch a line of string between two nails stuck in the soil to mark out a straight row, and make a narrow furrow along it by drawing one corner of a swan necked hoe towards you. Sow the seed thinly – about ½–1cm (¼ –½in) apart – in the newly-made 'drill'.

To allow your plants sufficient space to grow, you’ll need to remove the weaker seedlings. By the time they have developed two to three leaves (normally around four weeks after sowing) you should only have one every 15–20cm (6–8in) in the row.

Any surplus seedlings can either be replanted elsewhere (among slow-growing crops like cabbages, for example) or used in salads.

Planting

Alternatively, lettuce seed can be sown in pots or trays and planted out once the seedlings have two or three 'true' leaves (ignore the two cotyledons – rounded, leaf-like food storage organs – which appear first).

Never allow the young plants to become overcrowded in pots and be especially careful to ensure they never get dry or overgrown because they won’t recover easily.

When you are ready to plant them out, they should be spaced 15–20cm (6–8in) apart, depending on the variety (the seed packet should reveal all). Water them in well.