When to plant Lettuce in Etayi

Omusati, Namibia

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 Etayi, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure	Rain-fed	With irrigation
Fit	Favourable
When to plant	14 Feb 2027 – 6 Mar 2027 opens in 19 weeks	1 May 2027 – 30 Jun 2027
Expected harvest	about 11.9 t/ha	about 35.0 t/ha
Harvest	From 31 Mar 2027 to 20 May 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	98%

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 24 Feb 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

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

Planting after 6 Mar 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Etayi

Rain and temperature	60%
The soil	96%
The lie of the land	96%

For lettuce in Etayi, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 60%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.

The 2026/27 season in Etayi

Rainy seasons	One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expected	November 2026 to April 2027
Rain in a typical year	About 615 mm
This season's rain	Rain close to usual — plan around about 615 mm falling roughly when it always does
This season's heat	Hotter than usual — about +1.4 °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 all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers	One kind of ground throughout.

last updated 17 September 2026

Temperature holds back about 50% 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 Etayi

Nitrogen (N)	About 30 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)	About 12 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)	About 60 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 outside the crop's rangeCorrect soil pH (acidifier)

Grow Lettuce with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Etayi 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 Etayi?

Etayi rates as favourable for lettuce.

When should I plant lettuce in Etayi?

Typically 14 Feb 2027 to 6 Mar 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

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