When to plant Lettuce in Kumi

Save as PDF

Lettuce

Eastern, Uganda

Known here as saladi · letusi

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 Kumi, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 25 Apr 2027 – 24 Jul 2027 opens in 29 weeks 21 May 2027 – 20 Jul 2027
Expected harvest about 16.7 t/ha about 21.1 t/ha
Harvest From 9 Jun 2027 to 7 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 6 Jul 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

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

Planting after 24 Jul 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Kumi

Rain and temperature 76%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 88%

For lettuce in Kumi, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 76%. 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 2027 season in Kumi

Rainy seasonsOne each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expectedMarch 2027 to December 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 1,050 mm
This season's rainRain close to usual — plan around about 1,050 mm falling roughly when it always does
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.5 °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 supportsenough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers3 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 57% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
57% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 283 growing days · about 1,030 mm · March to December
21% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 302 growing days · about 1,180 mm · February to December
21% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 266 growing days · about 920 mm · March to December

last updated 17 September 2026

Temperature holds back about 35% 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 Kumi

Nitrogen (N)About 42 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 17 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 84 kg per hectare
In the shopsA 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 work40–80 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 — manageable

Grow Lettuce with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Kumi 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

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 Kumi?

Kumi rates as favourable for lettuce.

When should I plant lettuce in Kumi?

Typically 25 Apr 2027 to 24 Jul 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

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

Also worth considering in Kumi

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.