Vegetable (leafy annual)
Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
A fast, forgiving crop that bolts to seed in heat, so timing and shade matter more than soil fertility.
| Light | Full sun to part shade, 4-6 hours |
|---|---|
| Water | Frequent, shallow; keep soil evenly moist |
| Spacing | 15-30 cm depending on head type |
| Zones | Cool-season annual, all zones |
| Harvest | 45-65 days, or cut-and-come-again from 25 days |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Beat the bolt
Lettuce bolts — sends up a bitter flower stalk — once daytime temperatures sit consistently above about 24°C. Sow successively every two weeks in spring, switch to heat-tolerant varieties in summer, and give afternoon shade where summers run hot.
Cut-and-come-again
Loose-leaf types can be cut 2-3 cm above the crown and will regrow two or three times before quality drops, which makes them the best yield-per-square-foot crop in a small bed.