Australia plant library · vegetable

Lettuce

Lactuca sativa · Asteraceae

Fast, easy salad crop; ideal for pots and beginners.

Photo: GT1976, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun: Full sun; some types tolerate part shade (shade helps in hot weather).
Soil: Moist, fertile and well-drained.
Soil pH: 6.0-7.0.
Water: Keep soil consistently moist. Dry soil makes leaves bitter and encourages bolting.
Hardiness: All Australian climate zones; a cool-season crop in the tropics.
Height and spread: About 15-30 cm high and wide.

Guv's tipKeep lettuce soil consistently moist. Dry soil makes the leaves bitter and encourages bolting, and nobody wants a bitter salad.

Through the year

Temperate and cool areas: most of the year (Tasmania all months except Jun-Jul). Tropics: autumn-winter (e.g. March).

Pick loose-leaf types from about 6 weeks; whole heads 7-8 weeks after sowing.

None. Pick outer leaves of loose-leaf types and remove flower stems if bolting.

Seed, sown 3 mm deep, direct or in trays.

Pest

Look for: Holes chewed in leaves and seedlings; slime trails.

What to do: Hand-pick at night, protect seedlings, and use a registered snail and slug bait sparingly (e.g. iron-based).

Pest

Look for: Clusters of small sap-suckers on new growth; curled leaves; sticky honeydew.

What to do: Hose off, encourage natural predators, or use insecticidal soap or a registered pyrethrum spray.

Disease

Bremia lactucae

Look for: Pale yellow angular patches on the upper leaf surface, with whitish growth beneath.

What to do: Space plants for airflow, water at soil level in the morning, and remove affected leaves or plants.

Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.

Pets and people: Not listed by the ASPCA. Generally safe for dogs in moderation; the milky sap (lactucin) is rated low severity.

Weed risk: Not listed as a weed on Weeds Australia or the Queensland restricted invasive plant list.

Checked against two or more reputable gardening sources. How we check our facts

Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the UK and the USA.

Keep it by the back door

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