When to Plant Lettuce in Melbourne, Cool Temperate Guide

Sow year round in Melbourne. That includes right now, in October.

Planting window
Sow all year. Growth slows in winter; hearting types do best in spring and autumn, and summer sowings need heat-tolerant types.
Days to harvest
30 days
Sunlight
Full sun in cool seasons. Part shade essential in warm zones and during warm months to delay bolting.
Water needs
Light, frequent watering to keep soil consistently moist. Shallow roots dry out quickly...
Spacing
25cm apart, 30cm between rows
Soil pH
6.0-7.0

Published · Last reviewed · By GardenBuddy.au
Growing advice is reviewed by hand. Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.

This Lettuce guide is written for the Cool Temperate zone, which takes in Melbourne, Hobart and Geelong. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.

Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Canberra Alice Springs Perth

Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.

Lettuce

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Lettuce is the most commonly grown salad green in Australian home gardens. Available in four main types: crisphead (iceberg), cos/romaine, butterhead, and loose-leaf. It is a cool-season crop that bolts rapidly in heat, making variety selection and planting timing critical. Fast-growing (4-8 weeks to harvest) and adaptable to containers, garden beds, and even part shade.

See what grows now in your own postcode

Planting Calendar for Cool Temperate

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D S/T/D

S = Seed Tray   T = Transplant   D = Direct Sow

You can sow lettuce in any month in Cool Temperate, but the months are not equal. Growth slows right down through the coldest part of winter, so a June sowing takes considerably longer to reach harvest than a spring one.

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Current Growing Conditions

Soil temperature: 14.9°C (optimal range: 5–25°C) ✓ Ready to plant

Modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Melbourne), not a live sensor.

What this month normally looks like

In October the Cool Temperate zone normally runs 19°C by day and 8°C overnight, with about 67 mm of rain over 9 or 10 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -3.0°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 28 postcodes, SILO.

How to Grow Lettuce in Cool Temperate Australia

When to Plant

Sow all year. Growth slows in winter; hearting types do best in spring and autumn, and summer sowings need heat-tolerant types.

Soil
Light, well-drained soil enriched with compost. Lettuce has shallow roots and prefers loose, friable soil.
pH Range
6.0-7.0
Sunlight
Full sun in cool seasons. Part shade essential in warm zones and during warm months to delay bolting.
Spacing
25cm apart, 30cm between rows
Watering
Light, frequent watering to keep soil consistently moist. Shallow roots dry out quickly. Morning watering preferred. Drip irrigation or soaker hose ideal. Avoid overhead watering to prevent disease.

Companion plants: Carrot, Radish, Strawberry, Chive, Onion, Marigold

Avoid planting near: Celery (some allelopathic evidence), Parsley (competes for same nutrients)

Grow before, grow after

Lettuce belongs with the leafy greens, the leafy greens and brassicas turn of a four turn bed rotation.

Grow before it
Legumes (Beans - Dwarf, Peas, Broad Beans)
Grow after it
Fruiting crops (Tomato, Capsicum, Zucchini)

Give the bed 3 turns before leafy greens go back in. Leaf crops want the nitrogen the legumes left behind.

Cool Temperate Growing Tips for Lettuce

Recommended Varieties

  • Cos (all types)
  • Buttercrunch
  • Iceberg (Great Lakes)
  • Oakleaf
  • Mignonette

Key Challenges

  • Frost damages young plants
  • Slugs and earwigs
  • Bolting in hot January

Pro Tips

  • Melbourne's cool climate is excellent for lettuce most of the year
  • Protect early spring plantings from frost with fleece
  • Summer: grow in part shade with heat-tolerant oakleaf types

Harvesting Lettuce

When ready: Loose-leaf: when leaves are 10-15cm (baby) or 20cm+ (full size). Heading types: when head is firm and full-sized. Cos: when upright head is dense. Harvest before any signs of flower stalk elongation (bolting).

How to harvest: Cut-and-come-again: cut outer leaves at base for loose-leaf types. Whole head: cut at soil level with sharp knife in cool of morning. For cos, can harvest outer leaves or whole head.

Common Lettuce Pests in Cool Temperate Zones

Aphids, risk: MODERATE (score: 46/100)

In the pest library for lettuce:

Thrips (Onion, Tomato, Western Flower), high severity Corn Earworm / Tomato Grub (Heliothis), high severity Root-knot Nematode, high severity Downy Mildew, high severity Damping Off, high severity Botrytis / Grey Mould, high severity Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), high severity Mosaic Viruses (CMV, ToMV, ZYMV), high severity Common Garden Snail, high severity Possums (Common Brushtail, Ringtail), high severity Aphids (Green Peach, Cabbage, Cotton), moderate severity Cutworms, moderate severity Slugs, moderate severity Birds (Bowerbirds, Cockatoos, Pigeons), moderate severity Kangaroos and Wallabies, moderate severity Curl grub (scarab beetle larvae), moderate severity

Organic prevention (Aphids): Grow Nasonovia-resistant varieties (Nr gene). Avoid excess nitrogen. Check seedlings before planting. Floating row covers.

View all pest alerts →

Where to next

What lettuce costs in the shops right now, retailer by retailer, updated daily.

Also worth sowing in the cool temperate zone this October: Beetroot, Chilli Peppers, Cucumber and Sweet Corn.

The pest most likely to find your lettuce: Common Garden Snail.

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Common Questions About Lettuce

When do you plant lettuce in Australia?

It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:

Does lettuce grow all year round in Melbourne?

Yes, every month is on the calendar for the Cool Temperate zone, though not every month is equally easy. Sow all year. Growth slows in winter; hearting types do best in spring and autumn, and summer sowings need heat-tolerant types.

Which zone am I in?

Type your postcode into the box under the heading and the page tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cool Temperate zone, Melbourne is its reference city.