Vegetablesalad leafStraightforward

Lamb's lettuce

Valerianella locusta

A mild winter salad that grows through cold no lettuce will tolerate, forming small rosettes that are picked whole. Sown in late summer it fills the gap from November to March, which is the only time of year salad is genuinely hard to grow.

Position: Full sun or Partial shade
Water: low demand
Drainage: Free-draining
Grows to: 10–15 cm × 10–15 cm
Hardiness: H6
Harvest: November to March
Difficulty: Straightforward

August

Sow outdoors

Lamb's lettuce’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Sow outdoors								August.	September.	October.
Harvest	January.	February.	March.								November.	December.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Frost: Very hardy
Hardiness rating: H6 (RHS)
Grows best at: 5–18 °C
Germinates at: 5–20 °CSourced guidanceDepends on conditions
Soil: Loam, Sandy
Soil pH: 6–7.5
Drainage: Free-draining
Water needs: low
Drought: moderate tolerance
Waterlogging: moderate tolerance
Heat: poor tolerance
Wind and exposure: good tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lamb's lettuce — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lamb's lettuce — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lamb's lettuce — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

Germinates atSourced guidanceDepends on conditionsmoderate confidence

Applies when: Germination falls away sharply above about 20 °C, which is why late-summer sowings into warm soil so often fail and the same seed works a fortnight later.

OSU Extension Service — Oregon State University: Vegetable seed germination temperatures

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lamb's lettuce — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Valerianella locusta — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lamb's lettuce — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Lamb's lettuce will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Prefers this soil	Sandy suits Lamb's lettuce as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Sandy soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting.
Chalky and alkaline	Grows well here	Lamb's lettuce grows perfectly well on chalky and alkaline without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Lamb's lettuce as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Silty	Prefers this soil	Silty suits Lamb's lettuce as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Lamb's lettuce will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Prefers this soil	Shallow over rock suits Lamb's lettuce as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting.
Made ground and urban soil	Works, with one condition	Lamb's lettuce will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 10–15 cm
Mature spread: 10–15 cm
Rooting depth: 10 cm
Spacing: 10–15 cm apart

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lamb's lettuce — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume: 3 litres or more
Minimum depth: 12 cm

Where the container figures come from

Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Open ground	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Traditional dug bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Raised bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	3 litres; 12 cm deep
Cold frame	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Greenhouse	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Polytunnel	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Hydroponics	Workable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Windowsill	Marginal source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing herbs and salads indoors Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

SowingSow in September rather than August. Germination falls away sharply above about 20 °C, so the same seed that fails into warm soil succeeds a fortnight later.
HarvestingCut whole rosettes with a knife just above the roots rather than picking leaves. The plants are small and picking individual leaves is not worth the time.

Where this guidance comes from

SowingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lambs lettuce — care
Checked 2026-08-13
HarvestingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lambs lettuce — care
Checked 2026-08-13

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

Structure	What protection is worth	What decides it
Greenhouse	Extends the season source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Winter picking. Completely hardy, so cover is about keeping the tiny rosettes clean and reachable rather than alive.
Polytunnel	Extends the season source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Winter picking.

On a windowsill

A few weeks, then replace

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

How long the crop is actually productive on an ordinary British windowsill without added light.

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

A supermarket pot or a sowing gives a few weeks of cutting and is then exhausted. That is what the crop is, not a failure to keep it alive. Warmth. Lamb's lettuce is a cold-weather crop that bolts in a heated room, which is the opposite of the problem most indoor salads have.

Harvesting

When it is readyReady when the rosettes have six or eight leaves, usually from November onwards from an autumn sowing. It grows slowly in cold weather and holds in good condition for weeks, so there is no hurry — this is a crop that waits for the cook rather than the other way round.
How to pick itCut whole rosettes at soil level with scissors, or pick individual leaves. Wash well — the low rosettes trap grit in wet weather.

Where the harvest guidance comes from

When it is readySourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lamb's lettuce — harvesting
Checked 2026-08-13
How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

What goes wrong

Problem	How often	Notes
Slugs and snails	occasional source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · OSU Extension Service · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.