How to Grow Lamb's Lettuce
Valerianella locusta
Corn salad (mâche/lamb’s lettuce) is a cool-season salad ideal for autumn and winter. Sow outdoors from late summer to autumn in full sun to light shade on well-drained soil. Plants are hardy and compact; harvest whole rosettes or pick outer leaves. Keep slug protection in place and water during dry spells to prevent bitterness. Minimal feeding is needed—excess nitrogen makes soft, disease-prone growth. Use cloches or fleece to keep growth ticking through colder months.
When to Start
Direct sow outdoors as soon as soil reaches 4°C — typically early to mid spring. Can also be started indoors 3 weeks earlier for a head start.
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Growth Stages
Approximate days from start
Care Essentials
- Rarely needed. Undemanding crop.
- Also called lamb's lettuce or mâche. Sow in late summer for autumn/winter harvest. Slow-growing but very hardy.
Growing Conditions
- Min. soil temperature
- 4°C+
- Germination temperature
- 10–18°C
- Sow indoors
- —
- Transplant out
- —
- First harvest
- —
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Spacing & Planting
| Plant spacing | 10 cm |
| Row spacing | 15 cm |
| Sow depth | 0.5 cm |
| Mature height | 15 cm |
| Mature spread | 15 cm |
Also known as Mâche. A cool-weather green that grows in small rosettes. Can be broadcast sown and thinned.
Pests & Diseases
Pest Slugs and Snails
Identification: Irregular holes in leaves and slime trails on and around rosettes, worst overnight and in wet weather
- Use beer traps or copper tape barriers around beds
- Apply organic slug pellets (ferric phosphate)
- Encourage hedgehogs, frogs and ground beetles
- Ferric phosphate pellets are safe to use near edible crops
Pest Aphids
Identification: Small green or pink insects clustered on leaves and growing points, causing distorted growth
- Blast off with water
- Spray with fatty acid-based insecticide
- Encourage natural predators
- Avoid chemical sprays on salad crops intended for eating
Disease Downy Mildew
Symptoms: Yellow patches on upper leaf surfaces with greyish-white fuzzy growth on the undersides
Treatment: Remove and destroy affected leaves. Improve air circulation by thinning plants
Prevention: Avoid overcrowding, water at soil level in the morning, and ensure good ventilation under cloches
Disease Grey Mould (Botrytis) Botrytis cinerea
Symptoms: Fuzzy grey mould on leaves and crowns, often starting on damaged or dying outer leaves
Treatment: Remove affected leaves and improve ventilation. Avoid overwatering
Prevention: Space plants adequately, remove dead leaves promptly, and ventilate cloches on mild days
Growing Conditions
| Min. soil temperature | 4°C |
| Germination temperature | 10–18°C |
| Base growth temperature | 1.5°C |
| Min. daylength to start | 7.5h |
| Photoperiod sensitivity | day neutral |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How far apart should I plant Lamb's Lettuce?
- Plant Lamb's Lettuce 10cm apart with 15cm between rows.
- When can I harvest Lamb's Lettuce?
- Lamb's Lettuce is ready to harvest approximately 35 days after transplanting.
- Is Lamb's Lettuce frost hardy?
- Lamb's Lettuce is classified as Hardy.
