How to Grow Lettuce in Florida

Lettuce is a fall-through-winter crop in Florida. Plant it in the cool months, choose heat-tolerant types, and you can cut salads for months.

Lettuce is fast, easy and one of the most rewarding cool-season crops in Florida, as long as you grow it in the cool season. Sown from fall into late winter, it crops happily through the mild Florida winter. Sown in spring or summer, it bolts to seed and turns bitter in the heat.

When to plant in Florida

Sow a little every 2–3 weeks for a steady supply. See your region's window on the lettuce page.

Varieties for Florida

Loose-leaf and romaine types handle Florida's warmth better than tight head lettuces:

• 'Buttercrunch' — a reliable, heat-tolerant butterhead.
• 'Black Seeded Simpson', 'Salad Bowl', 'New Red Fire' — fast loose-leaf types, good for cut-and-come-again.
• 'Parris Island Cos' — a dependable romaine.

How to grow it

• Light: full sun in the cool months; give it afternoon shade if you are pushing into warmer weather.
• Soil and water: rich, compost-amended soil and steady moisture. Lettuce has shallow roots and dislikes drying out.
• Feed: a light, steady nitrogen feed keeps leaves tender.
• Succession: small, frequent sowings beat one big planting that all matures at once.

Pests and problems

Aphids, armyworms and slugs are the usual visitors; downy mildew and bottom rot show up in damp, crowded beds. Space for airflow, water in the morning at the roots, and check the undersides of leaves.

Harvest

Leaf lettuce is ready in about 45–55 days, but you do not have to wait: pick outer leaves as cut-and-come-again from 30 days and the plant keeps giving. Harvest in the cool of the morning when leaves are crisp.

Source: UF/IFAS Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide (SP 103), Lettuce; UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions.

When to plant in your region

Pick your region to see exactly when to plant lettuce where you garden.

See also: Lettuce in the plant library →

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