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Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
P	P	P	P	P				P	P	P	P

(Best months for planting Lettuce in Australia - cool/mountain regions)

P = Plant direct in garden where they are to grow.

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 8-12 weeks.
• Sow in garden, or start in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks.. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 46°F and 81°F. (Show °C/cm)
• Space plants: 8 - 12 inches apart

Lettuce offer a range of shapes, sizes and colours but they are all easy to grow. Choose a variety marked on the seed packet as suitable for the time of year as some do badly in the very hot months. Try to provide some shade to prevent them 'bolting' to flower and seed in the hottest months.

Sow in rows and use thinnings as small salad greens

Lettuce are shallow rooted so water daily in hot or dry weather to prevent bitter flavour. and bolting.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Lettuce

Wash well, spin or shake dry and use in salads and sandwiches

Your comments and tips

22 Apr 10, Tara (Australia - temperate climate)

I have planted some fancy mixed salad plants in a pot, 2 of the 6 died, but the other 4 look healthy but the leaves feel quite soggy rather than crisp, any reason for this? also when i water them the seem to flop even more and are better the next day. Do i just harvest the outside leaves slowly and will it re-grow?

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16 Apr 10, Rob (Australia - temperate climate)

My COS lettuce is booming - growing really thick really quick with lots of leaves. much better than my attempt to grow it in summer, where it shot up had a tall stem, seeded and few leaves.

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08 Apr 10, Keno (Australia - temperate climate)

Like Marcel....My iceberg lettuce doesn't seem to get a firm 'heart' just a bunch of loose leaves. I followed the seed packet and planting instructions.

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02 Apr 10, Marcel (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

My iceberg lettuce doesn't seem to get a firm 'heart' just a bunch of loose leaves. I followed the seed packet and planting instructions but no joy. my rabbit was happy with the lettuce though. :-) Any hints? I don't need to wrap them like with cellery do I?

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28 Mar 10, Dixie (Australia - temperate climate)

I have grown a variety of lettuce but they all taste bitter. What can I do or what am I doing wrong?

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27 Jan 10, Evelyn (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Jaime, I had the same problem with those small whitefly and little black bugs on my perpetual lettuce. The thing that worked well for me was the yellow sticky sheets from Green Harvest. I think you can get them in other places as well. Just tie the sheets onto a stick amongst the lettuce, close to the leaf crop and next day the sheet is covered in bugs. It only attracts those nasty bugs as the good bugs don't appear to be affected. Safe and organic. Hope that helps. Like Barb I grow most of my summer lettuce in the shade under a tree or in pots near the back deck. Works well and less likely to bolt. Perpetual Lettuce is also good for summer as it does not bolt.

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24 Jan 10, Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Unfortunately the bolted lettuce leaves will be bitter, but do let some go to flower, because their flowers will encourage good insects into your garden who will help keep pests at bay. Lettuce grows better in the shade at this time of year - or just stick to the red varieties!

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12 Jan 10, Kirsten (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hi, I planted lots of mixed lettuces. They were doing really well but then they all bolted to seed except the red ones. I was wondering whether if I just chop them back they will keep producing leaves or do I have to pull them out and start again?

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02 Nov 09, Bianca (Australia - temperate climate)

My baby butterhead was planted about 2 months ago and they started growing really well, then really slowed down. They are quite yellow now and the leaves are tough. Should I pull them out, or will they recover? It has been quite hot in Perth the last few weeks. I'm not sure whether they haven't had enough water, or whether I've over watered them!

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30 Oct 09, Andris (Australia - temperate climate)

David, you can find May Queen lettuce at either: www.theitaliangardener.com.au which has it as Reggina di Maggio of Franchi Sementi (Italian), or at www.vilmorin.com.au (French). You can order from either of their websites, or they both sell their stock through quite a few retail outlets. Franchi (and other Italian seed companies) you will tend to find in Italian and continental delis, and I know Vilmorin packs are available through Mitre 10 here in SA, but check their website. Both these companies have extremely generous amounts of seed too for lettuce (7,000-10,000 per pack), at around $3.50-$4.30. Check out their other lettuces too like Lolla Rossa, Four seasons wonder and heaps of others.

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