PlantSowGrowHow to grow Lettuce (Little Gem)
Lactuca sativa
🥕 Vegetable
🌱 Grown each year
A small, sweet, crunchy cos lettuce — quick to heart up and perfect for close spacing in small beds.
At a glance: Sow mid March to late July, harvest from early May.
When to sow, plant and harvest
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Sow outdoors
Harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Lettuce (Little Gem): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water regularly in dry weather
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 15 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- A general feed before sowing or planting
- Harvest
- About 55 days from sowing
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 3–9
- Difficulty
- Easy
Step by step
- Mid March – late July · 4 weeks before the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Outdoors
Sow thinly in drills where they are to grow.
- 4–10 days after “Sow Seeds Indoors” · Late March
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 4–10 days. If sown outdoors, thin to 15 cm apart when big enough to handle.
- 45–66 days after “Check Germination” · Early May – late May
Start Harvesting
Cut whole heads when the hearts feel firm.
- 14–28 days after “Start Harvesting” · Mid May – early June
Sow Another Batch (optional)
Sow again every 3 weeks for a steady supply.
- 21–51 days after “Sow Another Batch” · Early June – early July
Finish and Clear
Clear the remains to the compost heap once cropping ends.
