Some of you may have been at the talk I gave last Saturday on growing great lettuces, where we explored how to grow lettuce successfully all year round.
I shared photos from my garden—lots of them—because lettuce has become one of those crops I keep uncovering new varieties to try.
Growing Lettuce Year-Round in a Vegetable Garden
I grow around 50 different lettuce varieties each year. Some are best suited for spring, others can handle more summer heat, and still others truly shine in the fall and overwinter.
When you are buying your lettuce seed, note if they say they are heat or bolt tolerant. which gives you the clue they are better for warm weather.
All lettuce are generally cold hardy, so noting the ones that can take more heat will clarify which ones to plant for warm and cold seasons.
Choosing seasonal varieties is one way to grow lettuces all year in your veggie garden.
This photo gives you an idea of my love of growing lots of varieties of lettuce.
During the talk, I mentioned how much I wanted to show real-time photos of the lettuces currently growing under hoop houses in my garden in February. Those would have been photos of lettuces I seeded at the end of summer and into the fall.
But here’s the thing. – We’ve been in a serious cold snap.🥶 A couple of weeks of it. And honestly?
I wasn’t willing to risk opening those hoop houses to take a photo of my lettuce to show off in the presentation. I didn’t want to disturb whatever fragile balance might still be sustaining life inside.
Until today. – I couldn’t resist. 😁
Opening the Hoop House After Days of Freezing Temperatures
I carefully lifted one flap of one hoophouse — just enough to slide my phone inside — snapped a quick photo, and closed it back up without even looking to see if the lettuces were alive in there.
And you know what?
A Winter Garden Moment I Didn’t Expect
When I zoomed in on the photo I took – The lettuces are alive. ⬇️
The Lettuce Lived—Even Below Zero
They survived temperatures down to minus 5 degrees and colder wind chills. I think that’s the coldest we’ve had to date, and there they were—still alive, still hanging on and simply waiting for it to be a bit warmer so they can start growing bigger again – amazing – happy dance!💃😀
I was genuinely surprised. I knew lettuce could tolerate down to 24° F but this? In Zone 7, under a hoop house, below zero? That shifted something for me.
What This Taught Me About Lettuce and Winter Gardening
This reminded me of the resilience of plants, which is a good reminder for us.
Lettuce has a way of teaching you to allow a slow down occasionally, observe, and respond—qualities that transform not just your garden, but your relationship with it and ourselves. – Plus you can get loads of yummy food.
It also clarified just how hardy and forgiving lettuces are.
Starting Lettuce Seeds for a Spring and Summer Vegetable Garden
Because I wasn’t sure the lettuces (and other crops in the hoop houses) would make it, I had already started a whole new round of lettuce indoors.
Those seedlings are now in trays, have been transplanted once, and will be transplanted again before heading into the garden—or being shared with friends or sold to clients.
Along with that surprise hoop house photo, I’m also sharing images of the seedlings on my home-built seed starting rack, glowing under those pink full-spectrum grow lights.
They look a little wild—almost psycho🤪 —but they work beautifully.
And that’s part of the beauty of lettuce. It invites abundance. There’s almost always enough to share.
I wanted to pop in here to offer a wholehearted plug for lettuce—especially if you’re starting seeds for your spring and summer vegetable garden.
Lettuce is far more resilient than many of us expect, and it rewards even modest effort with beauty, nourishment, and confidence.
Three Insights for Growing Great Lettuce
These come straight from the talk I gave last Saturday:
- Growing in hoop house microclimates simplifies harvesting lettuces in cold and hot temperatures.
- Choosing seasonal varieties unlocks your ability to harvest lettuce all year.
- By being strategic, instead of guessing how to do it, you grow great lettuce.
Lettuce has a way of showing us what’s possible when we tend with curiosity instead of assumptions.
May your garden be abundant and bring you joy, beauty, and food so it becomes you sanctuary—a place where you flourish alongside what you grow.
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An Invitation to Grow With Curiosity This Season
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