Plant record

Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

Lettuce is spring's soft opening. Sow a little, often, before summer gets loud.

Rankspeciesderived
GenusLactucaAsteraceae
Species anchorLactuca sativaThis record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
Library score94/100deep plant record

Garden timing

Start 2 to 6 weeks before last frost.

Direct sow in cool soil and repeat while weather stays gentle.

Transplant into cool beds.

Succession rhythm: about every 14 days.

Plant intelligence

Good for compact blocks and repeat plantings.

foodsuccessionedge plantcontainer

Lifecycle: annual

Habit: low rosette

Germination: 2-10 days

Sow depth: 0.125 inches

Record score

94/100deep plant record
Taxonomy confidence97Lactuca sativa in Asteraceae; 3 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness944 per square with none support.
Timing and care depth1003 planting windows, 35F minimum soil, 2 cautions.
Species and variety drill-down1003 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence70Food crop with companion context.
Source readiness94Ready for 4 external lookup paths.

Species identity

This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.

ScientificLactuca sativaFamilyAsteraceaeLookup namesLettuce, Lactuca sativa, leaf lettuce, romaine, butterhead

Garden decision matrix

Square-foot fit4 per square
94Good for compact blocks and repeat plantings. Support: none.
Season behaviorhardy
100Indoor start. Direct sow. Transplant. Repeat about every 14 days.
Care loadsteady water
80Bolts in heat. Keep seedbed evenly moist. Soil minimum 35F.
Bed ecosystem rolefood, succession
70Food-first crop with companion context.
Variety depth3 options
100Use leaf types for fast succession and romaine/butterhead where you want structure.

Species and variety notes

Use leaf types for fast succession and romaine/butterhead where you want structure.

Buttercrunchcultivar
80small-bed fit

Gentle texture and tidy spacing for a spring bed.

Best use: tight bed or container. Tradeoff: best value comes from early cool timing.

butterhead, soft leaves, compact50-60 days
Little Gemcultivar
80small-bed fit

A good fit when the square-foot bed needs neat heads without sprawling.

Best use: tight bed or container. Tradeoff: best value comes from early cool timing.

mini romaine, compact, crisp45-55 days
Black Seeded Simpsoncultivar
64small-bed fit

A forgiving quick lettuce for repeated small sowings.

Best use: short-season reliability. Tradeoff: best value comes from early cool timing.

looseleaf, fast, cool-season28-45 days

Companions

carrot, radish, onion, broccolini

Cautions

Bolts in heat.

Keep seedbed evenly moist.

External enrichment

Cached name: Lactuca sativa. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.

Open enrichment JSON

Data layers

FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.

API source score

Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.

Michigan State University Extension

Michigan vegetable-garden timing, frost awareness, and practical garden planning.

Source reference

Cornell Vegetable Growing Guides

Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.

Source reference

University of Minnesota Extension

Upper Midwest vegetable guidance, cold-climate timing, and succession ideas.

Source reference

Back to plant library