A Cool-Weather Favorite
Early Spring is a perfect time to get lettuce growing in DeKalb County. Lettuce loves cool weather, and with temperatures still mild in early April, it’s one of the easiest crops to plant and harvest quickly. It also gives you a satisfying return in a short time—many leaf varieties can be ready to harvest in as little as 30 days.

Pick Your Lettuce Type
Lettuce comes in several styles, and all of them can do well here:

• Leaf Lettuce (like Black Seeded Simpson or Salad Bowl) is quick, easy, and allows for repeated harvests.
• Romaine has upright, crisp leaves and takes a bit longer to mature but is worth the wait.
• Butterhead (like Bibb or Buttercrunch) forms a small head with soft, sweet leaves.
• Crisphead (like Iceberg) can be more difficult in our climate due to heat sensitivity, but if you’re adventurous, give it a try—just plant early and keep it well-watered.

Where and How to Plant
Lettuce prefers well-drained, rich soil and partial to full sun. If you’ve never tested your soil, this is a great time to drop by the DeKalb County Extension Office across from Food Lion. They offer affordable soil testing and can help you understand how to amend your soil for better results.

Sow seeds directly into the ground or into raised beds or containers. Lettuce seeds are tiny and should be planted shallow—about 1/8 inch deep. Keep the soil moist until they sprout (usually within 7–10 days), and then thin the seedlings to give each plant room to grow.

Harvesting and Enjoying
For leaf lettuce, begin harvesting outer leaves when they reach 3–4 inches tall. Don’t pull the whole plant—just snip what you need and let the rest keep growing. For head varieties, wait until they feel firm and full before cutting.

Lettuce doesn’t last long in the heat, so get it growing now and enjoy it through May. Once the days get too warm, lettuce tends to “bolt,” meaning it sends up a flower stalk and turns bitter.

Grow It Your Way
One of the best things about lettuce is how little space it needs. Whether you have a large garden plot or just a few pots on the back deck, you can grow enough to make your salads fresher and more flavorful than anything you’ll find in a bag.

And don’t forget—gardening doesn’t have to be fancy. As my friend Carter Smith says, “Seed is cheap—plant often and in lots of places.” Lettuce is the perfect example of how that advice can pay off in just a few weeks.

About the Author
Dr. Philip Seagraves is the owner, along with his wife Cathy, of Griffin’s Produce in Smithville. A local fixture for over 50 years, Griffin’s has long been a trusted source for fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, and garden plants in DeKalb County. It has also been named “Best of the Best” Produce Market in DeKalb County by the Smithville Review many years running.