lamb's lettuce

When to sow lamb's lettuce?

Botanical name
Valerianella locusta
Family
Caprifoliaceae

Lamb's lettuce is sown outdoors from August to October, 1 cm deep. It germinates in 20 to 25 days. It is harvested from October to April.

Lamb's lettuce is an annual plant. The edible parts are the leaves.

lamb's lettuce
Photo: Schwäbin · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Lamb's lettuce through the year

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Transplanting
Outdoor sowing
Harvest
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  • transplanting
  • outdoor sowing
  • harvest

In short

Outdoor sowing
from August to October
weeks 32 to 44
Transplanting
from September to November
weeks 36 to 46
Sowing depth
1 cm
Spacing in the row
10 to 15 cm
30 cm between rows
Germination
20 to 25 days
Germination temperature
15 to 20 °C
Days to maturity
50 days
Harvest
from October to April
week 40 to week 14 of the next year

Growing conditions

🪨
Soil
loamy
☀️
Sun
full sun
💧
Water
moderate water
❄️
Frost
overwinters outdoors
🌱
Nutrients
a light feeder
🔁
Crop rotation
no sooner than the second year
📏
Height
10 to 50 cm

Pests and diseases

Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.

Powdery mildew

disease
Signs
A white, floury coating spreads over the leaves, first on the lower and older ones. The leaf under it yellows and dries up. The fruit stays small, because the plant loses leaf surface.
Prevention
Plant resistant varieties, leave an airy spacing and sun, and clear the debris at the end of the season. Unlike most fungi it is not helped by wet foliage, since it spreads in heat and high air humidity, in a dry summer too.

Slugs and snails

pest
Signs
Holes appear in the middle of the leaf rather than along the edge, young plants are eaten down to the ground, and there are slimy trails in the morning. On low-growing fruit there are gnawed pits.
Prevention
Remove the hiding places beside the bed: boards, stones, dense weeds. Water in the morning and not in the evening, so that the night is dry. Spread a band of coarse sand or gravel around the bed. Cover young plants with fleece. Pick them off at night, which is still the most effective measure.

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Related plants

The plants below are in the same botanical family (Caprifoliaceae).

Sources about the plant: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Johnny's Selected Seeds, KGZS, Royal Horticultural Society, Semenarna Ljubljana, Smernice za strokovno utemeljeno gnojenje (Mihelič et al., MKGP 2011), Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 30 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: Clemson Cooperative Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, University of Maryland Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Utah State University Extension.