March 1, 2026

When to Plant Lettuce Outdoors

Lettuce is one of the first things you can plant in spring and one of the last things you can plant in fall. It thrives in cool weather, germinates in cold soil, and handles frost better than most vegetables. If you're itching to garden early, lettuce is where you start.

Lettuce planting dates by zone

Use our planting calendar for dates customized to your zip code.

Spring planting: start early

Lettuce seeds germinate in soil as cold as 40°F (though 55-65°F is ideal). You can sow seeds outdoors 3-4 weeks before your last frost date. Lettuce seedlings handle light frost without any protection.

Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep (barely covered) in rows 12-18 inches apart. Lettuce seeds need some light to germinate, so don't bury them too deep. Thin seedlings to 4-6 inches apart for leaf lettuce or 10-12 inches for head lettuce.

The key to spring lettuce is succession planting. Sow a new row every 2 weeks from your first planting through mid-spring. This gives you continuous harvests instead of everything maturing at once.

Fall planting: the better season

Fall lettuce is often better than spring lettuce. Days are getting shorter and cooler, which is exactly what lettuce wants. Fall-planted lettuce is less likely to bolt, produces for a longer window, and in mild climates can keep going well into winter.

Start fall lettuce about 8-10 weeks before your first frost date. Seeds can be tricky to germinate in hot summer soil (lettuce goes dormant above 80°F soil temp), so start them indoors or in a shaded spot and transplant out when seedlings have a few true leaves.

Best lettuce types for each season

Preventing bolting

Bolting is when lettuce sends up a seed stalk and the leaves turn bitter. It's triggered by long days and temperatures above 80°F. Once bolting starts, it can't be reversed. The plant is done producing edible leaves.

Strategies to delay bolting:

• Choose slow-bolt varieties. Buttercrunch, Muir, and Nevada are bred for heat tolerance.
• Plant in partial shade. The shade of taller crops keeps lettuce cooler in warm weather.
• Mulch heavily. Straw mulch keeps soil cooler and extends production by several days.
• Water consistently. Drought stress accelerates bolting.
• Harvest early. Pick leaves young (baby greens stage) and the plant stays productive longer.

Cut-and-come-again harvesting

With leaf lettuce and loose-head types, you don't have to harvest the whole plant at once. Cut leaves at 1 inch above the base, and the plant will regrow new leaves for 2-3 more harvests. This is the most efficient way to grow lettuce for a small household.

For romaine and butterhead, you can harvest outer leaves individually as needed, letting the center continue to grow. Or harvest the whole head once it reaches full size.

Container lettuce

Lettuce has shallow roots and grows beautifully in containers. A window box, half barrel, or even a large pot (at least 6 inches deep) works fine. Container lettuce is great for balconies, patios, and anywhere you want fresh salad within arm's reach of the kitchen.

Use potting mix, keep it consistently moist, and feed every 2-3 weeks with diluted liquid fertilizer. In hot weather, move containers to afternoon shade to extend the harvest.

Lettuce is one of the easiest crops for shade gardens and pairs well with many other vegetables.

Related: What Vegetables Grow in Shade? | What to Plant in March