Lettuce is one of those crops I always want to have on hand. It’s fast, easy, and honestly kind of addictive once you get the hang of it. The secret to never running out? Succession planting.

🌱 What Is Succession Planting?

Succession planting just means you don’t plant everything all at once. Instead, you spread your plantings out every couple of weeks so you always have fresh lettuce coming in. Your crop will come in a steady rotation instead of one big wave. Here are a few things to know about lettuce:

• It grows fast (some types are ready in 30 days)
• It wilts in heat and bolts quickly
• It tastes best when harvested young and fresh

By planting small batches every couple of weeks, I get a steady stream of baby greens and mature heads rather than a single lettuce explosion.

🛒 Choosing Your Lettuce Varieties

Lettuce comes in several types, and each one has its own vibe:

• Looseleaf (like Black Seeded Simpson, Red Sails): Grows fast, easy to harvest leaf by leaf
• Butterhead/Bibb (like Buttercrunch): Tender and sweet with a soft head
• Romaine (like Parris Island Cos): Crunchy, upright heads, takes a bit longer
• Crisphead (like Iceberg): Needs more time and cooler temps

I like to mix looseleaf and butterhead early in the season, and shift to heat-tolerant romaine types as it warms up.

📆 My Succession Planting Schedule

Here’s how I keep the lettuce flowing:

1. Start with a direct sowing (or transplants) when the weather is mild.
2. Two weeks later, I sow another round of seeds.
3. Repeat every 2-3 weeks, depending on how much space and time I have.

You can keep this rhythm going until it gets too hot. Llettuce can bolt and turn bitter when temperatures are too warm.

In my Florida garden, I start sowing in late fall and plant through early spring. If you're in a cooler zone, you might start in spring and pause midsummer.

🧺 From Seed to Harvest: Step-by-Step

1. Prep Your Soil

Lettuce loves loose, well-draining soil rich in compost. I usually mix my own soil, and that mixture is made up of coco coir, perlite, and compost.

2. Sow Your Seeds

Lettuce seeds are tiny—sprinkle them on top of damp soil and press them in gently. They need light to germinate, so don’t bury them too deep.

I space them about 1" apart for cut-and-come-again harvesting, or 6–8" apart for full heads.

3. Keep It Moist

Lettuce seeds are picky about moisture. I water daily until germination, which usually happens in 3–7 days. Once they sprout, I mulch lightly to keep the soil cool and reduce evaporation.

4. Thin + Feed

Once they’re about 2 inches tall, I thin the seedlings to give them room to grow. I feed once or twice with a diluted compost tea or organic fertilizer, especially for later successions.

5. Harvest Often

• For baby leaves: Cut with scissors when they’re 4–6 inches tall.
• For heads: Wait until they're full size, then harvest in the morning for the best flavor.

Pro tip: Harvest a little at a time from several plants instead of taking out whole heads at once. That way, you stretch your harvest longer.

🌿 Tips for Success

• Use shade cloth in hot weather to slow bolting.
• Grow in containers for easy access and mobility.
• Start indoors in hot or cold weather to protect your seedlings.
• Save seeds from your best-performing plants at the end of the season!

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