Grow Lettuce in Summer?? Yes, you can!
Imagine stepping outside to your backyard or patio and picking tasty, fresh, sweet, crisp, lettuce that you grew yourself! Plant a crop of lettuce leafy greens today, and you’ll be eating your own homegrown, healthy salad in about 4-6 weeks!
Kids love planting lettuce, because they will see the seeds break through the soil in just a few days! It costs pennies to grow, and you can plant enough for a family of 4 in just one square foot or a in few containers.
Having your own fresh supply of leafy greens means you’ll save money at the grocery store, and will have the amazing feeling of stepping into your backyard to pick your own tasty, nutritious salad!
Lettuce likes the cooler weather best. However, with a little planning, you can grow varieties that are best suited for your weather conditions so you will have fresh, colorful leafy greens even in the hot summer months.
It’s important to plant heat tolerant varieties if you wish to grow lettuce in the hot weather. Two of my favorite are Slow Bolt Lettuce and Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce.
Three tips will help you grow lettuce in the heat
1. Shade your lettuce
2. Plant it in a container
3. Plant it in the shade of taller garden veggies
Watch the video and follow these tips so you can beat the heat and enjoy your own fresh salads any time of the year!
Leave a comment – tell me what you love about growing your own tasty greens! Afterwards, share this blog post with someone that you think would like to grow lettuce in the hot weather too!
You can read more about me, follow me, view how-to videos, photos of my garden, and lots of growing tips and tricks, on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
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Just planted 2 containers using your advice ,fingers-crossed I’ll have lettuce soon ??????????
Nice job, Kristy! I love hearing your reports! Keep us all posted, please! Kim
Awesome, containers work well anytime, but I especially love them in the summer! How’s it growing so far, Kristy?
My toamtoes aren’t growing fadt at all and I am afraid to start a new veggie before getting the first one to be succesful. Do have any advice?
Thank you for the tips on how to grow lettuce in the heat calikim.
Great video – hadn’t thought about trying to grow lettuce in summer!
Hello Rob, it usually does pretty well as long as you pick a heat tolerant variety (I love Black Seeded Simpson) and keep it in mostly shade. Have you tried any yet? Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the tips. I just planted lettuce yesterday and noticed the heat has already affected it a little today. What is the best way to pick the lettuce, outside leaves or if I take all of the leaves will it grow back?
I live in Southern Arizona and our temps., get up to 112-118f, which does the lettuce in. So I am giving your suggestion a try but in my little caged grow room. We are still waiting for result but hoping for the best. The food out of our garden has so much flavor I can’t believe the difference. I truely appreciate your Blogs, Pinterest, and most of all You Tube. Thanks so much for being so good at what you do.
Trish, those are some super high temps! You really cook there in AZ! I think the grow room is a great idea – I grew some indoors last summer with good results. So happy you are enjoying the amazing flavor and variety of garden fresh! What a difference! And thank YOU so much for your encouragement and kind words – your support means the world to me!
Ahhh just what I needed!!! My lettuce and Spinach weren’t doing too great, I will definitely use this tip, Our succession group 1 of Spinach went to seed after the hot weather we had last week. Thanks Kim
Hello Tara, keep me posted! Shading helps tremendously. I have some still going in the shade of a tom plants, and just planted some more today in the shade of some watermelon plants. Thanks for stopping by!
like the video wish you post when you start your seeding so we can follow along
I certainly will, Denise! Stay tuned for my fall garden series starting soon! Thanks for stopping by!
thanks so much for these tips, Stacey. We have whitened up with a March snow. It’s encouraging to think about the outdoor growing season coming soon!
Hello Julie,
Hang in there, spring is just a few weeks away, and it’s a downhill ride to warm weather from there! I bet you can’t wait to feel that warm sun on your back as you dig in the soil! What are you excited about growing? Thanks for visiting me here on the blog.
Thank you very much for the tips. I was start grow lettuce from seeds few days ago. I ‘m waiting your tips for growing Spinach in hot weather too. Aaah yeah I love your garden, its beautiful .
Thank you! I really love spending time in my garden! Growing spinach in hot weather can definitely be challenging, but I have been so impressed with the results from the Vegepod! Absolutely cannot believe the quality of greens that are being produced despite the heat- using a heat tolerant variety of spinach, like Green Malabar from MIGardener is a great place to start. If you are not growing in a Vegepod, using shade cloth when those temperatures really start to soar can also make a big difference. Good luck in your garden!
thanks so much for these wonderful tips. i already shared it to my sister so she can already prepare a place where we can plant lettuce. she is very fond of lettuce and also for health reasons that’s why we wanted to start a veggie and herbs garden.
keep it up! you are an inspiration to many of us.
have a nice day!
Love that you are putting in greens and herbs in your garden! Definitely so beneficial for your health! Keep me updated and happy gardening!
Hey Kim,
Hello from Dubai!
As I have mentioned the day temperatures for the start of summer here in Dubai are around 41 degree Celsius (which is around 108 degrees F).
I have grown lettuce in a small pot and yes it is doing very well. I have already had one batch of the tender leaves that I picked for a salad one weekend and another batch is doing wonderfully well. My balcony doesn’t get the direct sunlight after 10 am so I haven’t really had the need to shade my lettuce.
I also have cucumber, mint, chilies and marigold plants which I ‘m eagerly waiting to see them grow and give flower/ fruit. Hope they make it through the summers though (fingers crossed).
Thank you for your informative and inspirational videos.
Very descriptive post, I liked that a lot. Will there be a part 2?
Hi! I recently your videos on youtube and I love them, I subscribed and I’m loving all the tips. I live in Panama City, Panama (Central America) and it’s always hot here. I recently planted some veggies from seeds to start my own garden, and I have lettuce growing too. I am following your advice and hopefully they’ll grow in my climate!
Have my grow pots ready for my lettuce. My Calikim seeds should be here today. Very excited! So lucky to have found you on You tube. You have inspired me to take over my husbands garden and grow all kinds of veggies, not just garlic and zucchini. Thank you Calikim and of course “Camera Guy”
I love what you guys are usually up too. This sort of clever work and reporting!
Keep up the awesome works guys I’ve included you guys to my personal blogroll.
Grow Lettuce in Summer?? Yes, you can! | CaliKim Garden &
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Do you add fertilizer to the lettuce? Is it too late to plant lettuce seeds in the container?
I have a few questions. I have planted in my elevated garden bed tomatoes cucumbers, 3 different lettuces, carrots, and bell peppers. The tomato plant is blooming and I should have my harvest soon, bell pepper as well, but the cucumber vine is only blooming flowers will it produce any vegetables? Also I didn’t stake or cage it and it hangs over from the bed should I stake it? Next question, the lettuce is growing tall not round i placed them in front of tomatoes for shade but I think they are well, what can I do?
Nice video, am planning to plant lettuce soon ! I will buy the heat tolerant type, black seeded simpson which you suggested. I’ll keep you posted once i start to plant. Thanks a lot.