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Most people with a veggie patch grow lettuce. It's easy to grow, takes up little space and is a fast cropper.
Lettuce requires moist but well drained soil. Feed well with organic liquid fertiliser by mulching with compost, and provide plenty of water. It can be grown in full sun in Tasmania but will also grow well in semi shade in summer.
I usually plant seedlings but also sow seeds direct in rows. If sowing direct, sprinkle seeds along a shallow furrow, backfill lightly and water. Young seedlings are easily transplanted, so prick out extra seedlings and replant somewhere else. Spacing depends on the variety of lettuce but 30cm is a good rule of thumb for most varieties.
It's best to harvest whole lettuces when young. I also like to grow varieties like mignonette so I can remove a few outer leaves at a time if I don't need a whole lettuce.
For a continuous supply of lettuce plant every 2 weeks.