Divisi
When to plant Lettuce in Antalaha
Sava, Madagascar
Lettuce is a fast, leafy salad crop grown for its crisp, tender leaves — and because people eat it raw, you must grow it clean.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 10 Jun 2027 – 20 Jul 2027 opens in 36 weeks | same |
| Expected harvest | about 14.8 t/ha | about 23.4 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 25 Jul 2027 to 3 Oct 2027, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 45–75 days after planting | |
| Work it takes | 40–80 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 30 Jun 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Antalaha leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 20 Jul 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Antalaha
| Rain and temperature | 88% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 60% |
For lettuce in Antalaha, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 60%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.
The 2025 season in Antalaha
| When the rains are expected | January 2025 to December 2025 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 2,920 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — January, February, September, October and November look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.0 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 94% of this area. |
| 94% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 365 growing days · about 2,930 mm · January to December |
|---|---|
| 6% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 365 growing days · about 2,910 mm · January to December |
last updated 17 September 2026
Temperature holds back about 25% of yield here.
What lettuce needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam or loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 6.0 and 6.8 |
| Spacing | 38 cm between rows, 30 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen, potassium and calcium |
What it takes to grow lettuce in Antalaha
| Nitrogen (N) | About 37 kg per hectare |
|---|---|
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 15 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 74 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 40–80 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a lettuce crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Lettuce with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Antalaha as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Lettuce in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will lettuce grow well in Antalaha?
Antalaha rates as favourable for lettuce.
When should I plant lettuce in Antalaha?
Typically 10 Jun 2027 to 20 Jul 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Antalaha, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
