How To Grow Lettuce From Seed

Step 2: Growing in Containers vs. Ground

Containers: Perfect for salad growing and excellent at keeping crops away from slugs. Use troughs, pots, or window boxes with good drainage and fresh compost.

Ground: Choose rich, moisture-retentive soil. Dry soil causes stress - and stressed lettuce bolts.

Step 3: Sowing for Success

The golden rule of salad growing: never sow the whole packet at once.

Instead, sow a small pinch of seed every two weeks from March to September. This ensures a constant supply of young, sweet leaves rather than a glut.

Sow very shallowly (about 0.5cm) and thin seedlings early to improve airflow.

In hot weather (especially July), seeds can struggle to germinate. Sow in a lightly shaded spot or in a cool tray indoors and move seedlings outside once established.

Step 4: Care & Maintenance

Watering: Lettuce is 95% water. If it dries out, it panics, bolts (flowers), and turns bitter. Water little and often (mornings are best), especially in warm weather.

Weeding: Hand weed gently. Lettuce roots are shallow and easily damaged by hoes.

Pest Control (The Big One)

• Slugs: Use barriers, nematodes, or good old-fashioned night patrols.
• Flea Beetle: Tiny holes in rocket leaves? That’s flea beetle. It’s perfectly safe to eat, but cover crops with fine mesh if you want perfect leaves.

Step 5: How to Harvest Lettuce 

• Loose Leaf: Pick outer leaves only, leaving the centre growing.
• Hearting Lettuce: Cut the whole plant at the base once firm.
• Rocket: Harvest young leaves, and older ones become fiercely spicy.

Regular harvesting encourages more growth and keeps flavours mild.

Step 6: Winter Salad 

Salad growing doesn’t stop in summer. Hardy varieties can provide fresh leaves right through the colder months.

Sow Winter Gem, lamb’s lettuce, and land cress in August or September for harvesting throughout winter. With protection from cloches or a cold frame, you’ll enjoy home-grown salads when shops are charging the most.

Explore our Winter Salad collection to keep your salad bar open all year.

With a little planning, there’s no need to buy bagged salad ever again.

Home-grown leaves are fresher, tastier, and far better value - and with quality seed and simple techniques, success is well within reach for every gardener.

Browse our lettuce seeds and salad mixes for instant variety and explore our range of slug controls to keep your harvest for yourself.