How to sow lamb's lettuce
Updated: 21 October 2026
You have a packet and you want to avoid an empty row. How to sow lamb's lettuce comes down to a moist surface, a shallow cover, and a cool spell rather than a hot dry one. The [lamb's lettuce seeds comparison](/hub/seeds-and-plants/lamb-s-lettuce-seeds) is where the packet was chosen. This page assumes that choice is made. Nothing here is a germination percentage for the amazon.co.uk listings, dated 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have a packet and you want to avoid an empty row. How to sow lamb's lettuce comes down to a moist surface, a shallow cover, and a cool spell rather than a hot dry one.
You have a packet and you want to avoid an empty row. How to sow lamb's lettuce comes down to a moist surface, a shallow cover, and a cool spell rather than a hot dry one. The lamb's lettuce seeds comparison is where the packet was chosen. This page assumes that choice is made. Nothing here is a germination percentage for the amazon.co.uk listings, dated 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Sowing window on the listing | Pots | Light | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Unwins Unwins Lambs Trophy | March to October | Pots and containers | Full sun | 7.9 | about £2.08 | View offer |
| Alternative |  DAMAVAND PRO Damavandpro Verte de Cambrai, 1,200 seeds | Year-round in the care text | Containers, including windowsills | Not stated | 4.9 | about £2.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Kings Seeds Kings Seeds corn salad Vit | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 3.8 | about £1.35 | View offer |
Make the drill or the pot
This seed fails when you bury it, when the surface dries, or when you sow into hot soil and forget it. Gardeners' World describes a moist surface and a light cover. Water the drill first if the bed is dry, press the seed onto damp soil, then cover lightly. UK instructions span about 5 mm to about 15 mm. Suttons uses about 5 mm. Other merchants say about 10 mm or 12 mm. Follow the packet, and stay inside that shallow band.
A pot is a handful of leaves, not a household bowl. A windowsill pot wants to be at least 20 cm wide and 15 cm deep, for spring and summer light. A January windowsill is a poor plan. Use peat-free compost, water before you sow, and do not leave the tray standing in water. Slugs take young plants. Pick them off and do not use metaldehyde pellets. If a whole tray collapses into wet threads under glass, that can be damping off. If you cannot tell waterlogging from disease, ask someone who grows under glass before you resow into the same tray.
Space and succession
Thick sowing becomes the problem. Suttons thins to about 7–10 cm with rows about 15 cm apart. A working gap of roughly 10–15 cm matches that cluster. If your packet prints a different figure, use the packet. Leaves that touch stay wet, and wet seedlings are the ones that collapse.
Do not tip the whole packet into one drill. Gardeners' World suggests a short row every two weeks. Suttons gives about 12–30 weeks from sowing to harvest, because a spring row and a late-summer row are not the same wait. Skip a midsummer sowing if the soil is hot and you cannot keep the surface moist.
If nothing comes up
The usual causes are a dry surface, seed deeper than about 15 mm, or compost that heated on a south-facing sill. One merchant says germination often takes 7–14 days. That is not a promise, and do not treat 10–18 °C as an RHS rule. If a fortnight of steady moisture in cool weather still shows nothing, stop watering a blank drill.
A pinch of leftover seed on damp kitchen paper, kept cool and moist, is a yes-or-no look at what you have left. It is not a germination rate. None of these amazon.co.uk listings prints a percentage. French reviews that say nothing came up are not a UK rate.
Damping off looks different. Seedlings appear, then fall over with a pinched stem. Give more air, and do not reuse that sodden compost. If you cannot separate water from disease, ask for help before you sow the rest of the packet into the same tray.
First cut
When plants are large enough, take the outer leaves or cut one small rosette and leave the neighbours. A second cut needs a living crown and cool weather. Heat and lengthening days push the plant to flower. These sources do not promise a fixed number of cuts. A follow-up sowing does more than stripping one row bare.
If you are sowing in August or September, the date and the cloche are on lamb's lettuce for winter. If the packet might not be corn salad, use the buying guide before you open the whole bag. Which listing suits a pot is on best lamb's lettuce seeds, and it does not change the depth.
Common questions
How deep do I cover the seed?
Keep it shallow and follow your packet. Instructions for this crop run from about 5 mm to about 15 mm. Suttons uses about 5 mm. Other merchants use about 10–12 mm. A light cover on a moist surface is the point Gardeners' World stresses.
How far apart should plants be?
Thin to roughly 10–15 cm, with rows about 15 cm apart, unless your packet says otherwise. Suttons thins to about 7–10 cm. Crowded plants stay wet, which is where seedlings collapse.
How often should I sow?
Sow a short row and repeat every two weeks, or every two to three weeks, through the cool spell you are using. Do not sow the whole packet on one hot afternoon. Seed held back is what you use if the first drill dries out.
Why did nothing come up?
The usual causes are a dry surface, seed deeper than about 15 mm, or a hot spell. Merchants often say seedlings show in 7–14 days when moisture holds.
Can I sow in a pot on a windowsill?
Yes in spring and summer, in a pot at least 20 cm wide and 15 cm deep, with enough light to keep the plants stocky. Do not leave the pot in a saucer of water. A January windowsill is not this method.
What do I do about slugs?
Slugs graze the seedlings. Check the row and remove them. Do not use metaldehyde pellets. A cloche can keep some pests off and can also keep the air too wet, so vent it.
Related pages
Sources
Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were checked on 19 October 2026.
- RHS — Valerianella locusta (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Gardeners' World — how to grow lamb's lettuce (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Gardeners' World — winter salad (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Defra — plant varieties and seeds FAQ (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Suttons — corn salad seeds (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- The English Garden — indoor salad leaves (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Unwins — lamb's lettuce Trophy (retrieved 19.10.2026)