When to plant Lettuce in Oriental

Morocco

Lettuce is a fast, leafy salad crop grown for its crisp, tender leaves — and because people eat it raw, you must grow it clean.

Lettuce in Oriental, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure	Rain-fed	With irrigation
Fit	Favourable
When to plant	8 Nov 2026 – 28 Dec 2026 opens in 6 weeks	10 Feb 2027 – 1 May 2027
Expected harvest	8.9–11.0 t/ha	about 29.5 t/ha
Harvest	From 23 Dec 2026 to 13 Mar 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 meets its needs	88%

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 28 Nov 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Oriental is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 28 Dec 2026 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Oriental

Rain and temperature	88%
The soil	96%
The lie of the land	45%

For lettuce in Oriental, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 45%. 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 2026/27 season in Oriental

When the rains are expected	October 2026 to April 2027
Rain in a typical year	About 295 mm in a typical farming district
Across its districts	From about 270 mm in the driest of 8 districts to about 326 mm in the wettest
This season's rain	Rain close to usual — plan around about 295 mm falling roughly when it always does
This season's heat	Hotter than usual — about +1.2 °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 one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth
Ground this covers	4 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area.

Agro-ecological zones covering this area
57%	enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth no rain-fed season · about 210 mm
30%	enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 135 growing days · about 300 mm · October to March
6%	too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; cool for part of the year, so frost sets the planting date no rain-fed season · about 200 mm
4%	enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 204 growing days · about 440 mm · October to April

last updated 18 September 2026 · from all 8 areas within it

Sloping ground holds back about 45% 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 Oriental

Nitrogen (N)	About 26 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)	About 10 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)	About 51 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

Pest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH below the crop's optimumSteep slope

Grow Lettuce with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Oriental 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.

Or check your field first

Lettuce in nearby districts

How to grow Lettuce, step by step Land preparation to harvest — every task, in order

Frequently asked questions

Will lettuce grow well in Oriental?

Oriental rates as favourable for lettuce.

When should I plant lettuce in Oriental?

Typically 8 Nov 2026 to 28 Dec 2026, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Oriental, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.