With shapes ranging from deeply lobed to ruffled, and colors that range from chartreuse to deep red, lettuces are a beautiful addition to any garden or container.

Since moving to our current home, I have grown several varieties of lettuce each year in one of five raised beds. Lettuces are well-suited to raised beds. Mostly they are shallow rooted and well-mannered plants. They won’t grow too large or flop over the edge of the beds. They will also do well in smaller containers and are great fillers around the edge of a mixed container planted with other vegetables or flowers.

A side note: I highly recommend investing in a salad spinner if you plan on growing lettuce. I had no idea what purpose a salad spinner served until I grew lettuce for the first time. After washing it in the sink, I had a heaping pile of sopping wet lettuce. I had no idea how to dry it. I ended up throwing the lettuce on a piece of window screen, tying it in a bundle, and swinging it around my head in the front yard. It worked, but all of my neighbors probably think I’m a crazy lady.

My Mom bought a salad spinner for my birthday present later that year. I retired the screen.

Growing Conditions for Lettuce

Lettuces prefer cooler weather and perform best when temperatures stay between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Once temperatures regularly climb to 80 degrees and higher, lettuce will start to bolt, or flower and set seed. At that point, the flavor deteriorates.

I typically direct sow lettuce seeds in my raised beds about two weeks before the last frost date of my Zone 6 garden, or early to mid-April. Lettuce seeds may also be started indoors about six weeks before your average last frost date. You can plant them outdoors once they are about three weeks old. Some lettuces tolerate a light frost better than others. It’s recommended to protect the plants with row covers or something similar if there’s a chance of frost at night.

Lettuce is also a great fall crop. Direct sow seeds in containers or the ground about eight weeks before your first frost date. (I sow seeds for a fall crop in mid-August for my Zone 6 garden).

Harvesting

Lettuce seeds germinate quickly and should appear within a week as long as the soil has reached 55 degrees. Once seedlings have emerged and start to look crowded, thin them by carefully pulling or cutting plants until they have at least six inches between them. Enjoy these baby greens in a salad.

Most lettuces are easily harvested by using scissors. Just cut all the leaves off an inch or two above the soil. This leaves the crown of the plant intact and it will start to flush out new leaves in just a few days. As long as the weather cooperates, you may get three or four harvests from one plant. Or, if you don’t want to decimate the plant or only need a handful of greens for dinner, just cut off individual leaves until you have the desired amount.