How to Grow Lettuces in Australia: Sowing and Companion Plants

Updated October 2026

Cut-and-come-again technique, variety picks, and planting calendars for every region

Lettuce is the fastest salad crop you can grow. Some varieties are ready to pick just 4 weeks after sowing. It grows in garden beds, pots, window boxes, and even between taller crops. You can have fresh salad leaves within arm's reach of the kitchen all year round in most Australian climates.

This guide covers the best varieties, the cut-and-come-again technique, how to stop lettuce bolting in heat, and when to plant in your region.

What it looks like as it grows

🌱 Plant profile: Lettuce, with sowing times for your region, companion plants and common pests.

Which Lettuce, When?

Lettuce lives or dies by the weather. Pick the wrong type for the season and it bolts to seed and turns bitter; pick the right one and you have crisp leaves for weeks. Choose your season and climate and the selector tells you which types to grow, your bolt risk, and how often to sow.

When to Plant Lettuce in Your Region

Lettuce has a long sowing window in most regions, but not a year-round one. These are the sowing months for each region from our planting data. Each region links to its full vegetable planting calendar, and the Lettuce plant page has spacing, companions and care notes for your region.

Position and Soil

Lettuce likes full sun in the cooler months but appreciates afternoon shade once the weather warms. It is shallow-rooted and thrives in soil rich in organic matter that holds moisture without staying waterlogged. Dig through plenty of compost or well-rotted manure before planting.

Because lettuce grows fast, it needs steady access to water and nutrients. A bed that dries out or runs short of feed checks growth and pushes plants towards bolting. In hot regions, a spot that catches morning sun and afternoon shade extends the season noticeably.

Sowing

Lettuce seed is tiny and needs light to germinate, so barely cover it. Sow direct in shallow rows or raise seedlings in punnets and transplant when they have a few true leaves. Seed germinates best between 10 and 20 degrees; above about 25 degrees it can go dormant, so in hot weather sow in the cool of the evening and keep the surface damp.

The secret to a steady supply is succession: sow a short row or a punnet every 2 to 3 weeks rather than one big planting. By the time one batch slows, the next is ready to pick.

How to grow lettuces, step by step

1. Prepare a bed or pot of fertile, moisture-holding soil with plenty of compost, in full sun for the cool months or with afternoon shade once it warms up.
2. Sow the seed very shallow, about 5 mm deep or just pressed into the surface, because lettuce seed needs light to germinate.
3. Keep the surface damp. Seedlings appear in about 10 days in cool soil, and germination stalls once the soil gets hot.
4. Thin or transplant the seedlings to about 25 cm apart for heading types, or closer for loose-leaf types you will pick leaf by leaf.
5. Water often and evenly and feed every couple of weeks with a liquid feed, because fast growth gives sweet, tender leaves.
6. Sow again every 2 to 3 weeks so a new batch is always coming on.

Our plant data allows about 55 days from sowing to a full head, and loose-leaf types can be picked well before that.

Spacing

Space heading types like Iceberg, Cos, and butterhead about 25 to 30 cm apart so heads have room to fill. Loose-leaf types grown for cut-and-come-again can go closer, around 15 to 20 cm, or be sown thickly and thinned as you eat the thinnings. Good spacing keeps air moving, which cuts down fungal problems and slug damage.

Watering and Feeding

Keep the soil consistently moist. Lettuce is more than ninety per cent water, and any check from drying out makes it bitter and triggers bolting. Water in the morning so leaves dry through the day, which also leaves the soil drier at night when slugs feed.

Feed every couple of weeks with a liquid fertiliser or seaweed solution to keep growth fast and leaves tender. Slow-grown lettuce is tough and bitter; fast-grown lettuce is sweet and crisp. Mulch around plants to hold moisture and keep the roots cool.

Cut-and-Come-Again Technique

This method gives weeks of harvests from a single sowing. Instead of growing to full head size and pulling the whole plant, you pick individual outer leaves as you need them while the plant keeps growing from the centre.

• Start picking when leaves are 10 to 15 cm long
• Always leave at least 4 to 5 inner leaves so the plant can keep growing
• Cut leaves cleanly with scissors rather than tearing
• Oakleaf, Mignonette, and loose-leaf varieties work best for this method

Bolt Prevention

Bolting, where the plant sends up a flower stalk, makes lettuce bitter and inedible. Heat, long days, and drought stress are the triggers. To hold it off:

• Grow heat-tolerant types in the warm months (loose-leaf, Oakleaf, heat-tolerant Cos such as Great Lakes)
• Provide afternoon shade in hot regions
• Keep the soil consistently moist, since drought stress triggers bolting fast
• Harvest regularly to keep plants in leaf-production mode
• In the tropics, sow only in the dry season, from May to August. In South East Queensland, the Northern Rivers and Sydney, skip November and December and use heat-tolerant types for January and February sowings

Companion Planting Lettuce

Lettuce is an easy neighbour. It is small, quick and shallow-rooted, so it tucks in between slower crops, and our companion data pairs it with carrots, radish, onions, chives, strawberries and marigolds. Many other plants list lettuce as a good companion in our data as well, including beetroot, silverbeet, garlic, spring onions, rocket and snow peas.

• Carrots, radish and beetroot are root crops, so they share a bed with leafy lettuce well, and all three are listed as lettuce companions in our data.
• Onions, chives, garlic and spring onions pair with lettuce in both directions in our data.
• Strawberries and marigolds are listed as companions too, and make a good edging for a lettuce bed.

The one plant to keep apart is parsley, which our data lists as a poor companion for lettuce in both directions. The companion planting chart has the pairings for every common vegetable and herb.

Common Problems

Slugs and snails

The biggest pest for lettuce. They feed at night and can demolish seedlings overnight. Use iron-based pellets, beer traps, or copper tape around containers, and water in the morning so the soil is drier at night when they are active.

Aphids

Green or brown aphids hide in leaf folds. Blast them off with water or use a soapy water spray. Heavy infestations stunt growth and spread disease.

Tip burn

Brown edges on inner leaves, especially on Iceberg and heading types. Caused by a calcium shortfall linked to uneven watering. Water consistently and mulch to keep soil moisture even.

Bitterness and bolting

Brought on by heat, drought stress, and long days. Grow heat-tolerant types in warm weather, keep the water up, give afternoon shade, and pick before a flower stalk forms.

Harvest

Pick lettuce in the cool of the morning when leaves are crisp and full of water. For cut-and-come-again, take outer leaves and leave the centre to regrow. For heading types, cut the whole head at the base once it is firm and full. Harvest before the plant starts to elongate and bolt, as flavour turns bitter quickly once it does.

Varieties

Frequently Asked Questions

See also: Lettuce in the Plant Library

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