Very hardy and genuinely capable of growing right through winter, per the crop database's own description -- an excellent hungry gap crop, bridging the stretch when stored autumn crops are running low and new spring sowings aren't ready yet.
Water need
Genuinely low water need through its cool-season growing window -- part of what makes it such a reliable low-input hungry gap crop.
Calories at a glance
210 kcal/kg -- genuinely valuable less for raw calorie density and more for exactly WHEN it's ready, filling a real seasonal gap (scale is log-based across all 55 core crops in the calculator).
Temperature Range by Month
Month on the bottom, temperature up the side. The pale green background is what the plant can survive at all -- fatal above or below it, labelled directly on the chart where that applies to your zone. The coral band is its ideal range, and only fades in during the months this zone would actually have the crop in the ground -- reusing the exact same sowing/harvesting data as the calendar further down the page. The blue line is real monthly climate data (not a modelled estimate) for a representative rural/agricultural location in this zone -- a small farming town or agricultural research station rather than a major city, to avoid the warmer bias city weather stations have. For the actual verdict on how well this crop does in your zone, see the badge at the top of the page -- that's based on the site's own researched yield figures, not this chart.
Quick Start: Sowing to Storage
- Sow in late summer for a winter crop. Sow direct in late summer or early autumn to establish plants before the coldest weather -- this is the timing that fills the genuine hungry gap.
- Thin to final spacing. Thin seedlings once established, leaving enough room for small rosettes to fill out.
- Let plants stand through winter. Leave plants in the ground through winter -- genuine cold hardiness means they keep producing through conditions that would finish off more tender greens.
- Harvest whole rosettes. Cut whole small rosettes at the base as needed -- the standard way this crop is harvested.
- Resow through the season for a continuous supply. Sow in succession through autumn and again in spring for continuous cropping across the whole cool season.
Sowing & Harvesting Calendar
Pick your zone under "Temperature Range by Month" above and this updates too. Notice the harvest window stretches deep into winter in most zones -- the genuine hungry gap timing this crop is known for.
Calories & Yield
Tropical, Subtropical and Mediterranean zones tie for the best yield here, and every zone shows at least a challenging window.
| Climate Zone | Yield per plant | Calories per plant | Viability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical / Humid | 1.5 kg | 315 kcal | Viable -- best yield |
| Subtropical | 1.5 kg | 315 kcal | Viable -- best yield |
| Mediterranean | 1.5 kg | 315 kcal | Viable -- best yield |
| Temperate Maritime | 1.2 kg | 252 kcal | Viable |
| Temperate Continental | 1.2 kg | 252 kcal | Viable |
| Cool / Boreal | 0.48 kg | 100.8 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
| Arid / Semi-Arid | 0.48 kg | 100.8 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
| Highland / Alpine | 0.48 kg | 100.8 kcal | Challenging (60% yield) |
Figures per plant sown, from the site's own crop database. Boreal, Arid and Alpine already reflect the 60% penalty applied to challenging zones.
Varieties Worth Knowing
Lamb's lettuce (corn salad) has a couple of long-established named varieties, though real diversity is thinner than for most salad greens. Both below are open-pollinated (OP), meaning seed saved from them breeds true and is worth keeping under this site's seed-saving approach; neither is an F1 hybrid.
Seed Saving -- Quick Guide
Lamb's lettuce is self-pollinating with low crossing risk -- the main skill is catching its small, easily-missed seed heads before they dry out and drop.
SERVINGS, NOT DAILY CALORIES This works out plate-sized servings of lamb's lettuce from your seed during its fresh harvest window only, not your group's full daily calorie needs. For that, use the main calculator.
Estimated for your selected zone above, using this site's own germination, loss and yield figures for lamb's lettuce -- a helping is roughly what you'd put on a plate as part of a meal with other veg. Treat it as a planning estimate, not a promise.
Storage & Preservation
Fresh leaves keep for about a week refrigerated -- similar to most tender salad greens.
There's no meaningful long-term preservation route for this crop -- its real value is as a continuous fresh harvest exactly when the hungry gap makes fresh greens scarce, not something to bank.
Growing Lamb's Lettuce Without Bought Inputs
Genuinely one of the toughest, lowest-maintenance winter salad crops on this site -- its cold hardiness means it needs little protection through the season it's grown for.
Slugs are the main pest risk, especially in the damp conditions winter crops often face.
Hand-picking slugs at dusk is a simple, genuinely effective input-free measure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does lamb's lettuce have anything to do with corn or maize?
No -- despite the alternate name "corn salad," it's genuinely unrelated to maize. The name comes from its history as a companion weed that grew wild in European corn and grain fields, not from any botanical connection. It's Valerianella locusta, in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae -- a genuinely surprising botanical home for a salad green.
Why is lamb's lettuce called an excellent hungry gap crop?
Because it's genuinely harvestable right through the late-winter hungry gap, per the crop database's own description -- the stretch when stored autumn crops are running low and new spring sowings haven't matured yet. Its cold hardiness means it keeps producing exactly when little else is ready.
Does lamb's lettuce cross-pollinate with anything else on this site?
No -- it belongs to its own family, Caprifoliaceae, with no other crop from that family grown on this site. There's no cross-pollination partner to plan around.