How to Grow Lentils UK

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Lentil (Lens culinaris)
  2. When to Plant Lentils in the UK
  3. Quick Facts
  4. At a Glance
  5. Soil & Growing Conditions
  6. Growth Stages
  7. Harvest & Storage
  8. Diseases
  9. Pests
  10. Lentil, One of the First Crops Ever Cultivated
  11. Plan your Lentils planting
  12. Growing Lentil in another region
  13. References
  14. Frequently Asked Questions

In the UK, lentils go in the ground early March to early May, and are ready to harvest 90 days after planting.

Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: sowing early March, and that same window applies across all 4 regions covered here.

The short answer

Plant
Early March to early May
Ready in
90 days
Site
soil pH 5.5–7.5
Biggest risk
Powdery mildew

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Lentil (Lens culinaris)

Lentil foliage with delicate tendrils — “Lens culinaris sl1” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

9 sources cited · Verified

When to Plant Lentils in the UK

When to plant lentils in the UK: in Southern England, sow early March to early May. Find your area in the table below.

A lentil plant growing in the field with flowers — “Lens culinaris sl15” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl15” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Region Sow
Southern England early March to early May
Midlands early March to early May
Northern England early March to early May
Scotland early March to early May
Southern England - detail & sources

Bite Sized Gardening: sow under cover in late winter or outside from mid-spring, with UK trials favouring an early April sowing; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Midlands - detail & sources

Bite Sized Gardening: sow under cover in late winter or outside from mid-spring, with UK trials favouring an early April sowing; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Northern England - detail & sources

Bite Sized Gardening: sow under cover in late winter or outside from mid-spring, with UK trials favouring an early April sowing; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

Scotland - detail & sources

Bite Sized Gardening: sow under cover in late winter or outside from mid-spring, with UK trials favouring an early April sowing; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient.

A page from the UK Vegetable Garden Planner PDF: the crop rotation planner, with a planning grid and four-bed rotation tips

Plan your lentils — and the rest of the plot

This page covers lentils. For every crop's sowing months on one chart, use the free UK vegetable planting calendar, and browse the UK vegetable growing guides for what else to grow alongside it. When you want the whole season on paper, the UK Vegetable Garden Planner is a printable PDF:

  • Twelve month-by-month sowing and harvest spreads
  • Raised bed, allotment and container layout pages for your own plot
  • A four-year crop rotation planner
  • Seed inventory, sowing log and harvest tracker
See inside the UK Vegetable Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · reprint every season

Quick Facts

Lentil foliage with delicate tendrils — “Lens culinaris sl1” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl1” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Soil pH 5.5 - 7.5
Optimal growing temp 15-29°C
Time to harvest 90-90 days
Drainage Well-drained
Lifecycle annual
Edible parts seeds (pods)

At a Glance

A lentil stem with flowers and developing pods — “Lens culinaris sl50” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl50” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Lens culinaris Lentil Powdery mildew Downy mildew (general) Aphids Pea and bean weevil DISEASES PESTS

Soil & Growing Conditions

A lentil plant growing in the field with flowers — “Lens culinaris sl15” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl15” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Soil pH range

5.5 7.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

Close-up of a small lentil flower — “Lens culinaris sl48” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl48” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing and germination 0 Sow under cover in late winter or direct outdoors from mid-spring, seed 3-4cm deep in rows 30cm apart, about 8-10g of seed per square metre; UK trials found heavier yields from an early April sowing (Bite Sized Gardening).
Establishment and staking 1 Sprawling habit reaching 40-50cm; stake young plants with twiggy pea sticks or canes and string if space is limited, to keep growth more upright (Bite Sized Gardening).
Flowering and pod set 6 Water during dry spells as pods develop; otherwise needs little attention (Bite Sized Gardening).
Pod ripening and harvest 8 Harvest once pods have turned brown, then dry and store the small lens-shaped seeds (Bite Sized Gardening).

Harvest & Storage

A row of small green lentil pods — “Lens culinaris sl20” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl20” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: Gardeners' World: first pods appear "approximately three months after sowing"; harvest "when the pods turn brown"; pods contain "only two to three lentils".

Storage

Dried pods/seeds stored for long-term use

Diseases

Lentil foliage with delicate tendrils — “Lens culinaris sl1” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl1” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Downy mildew (general)

Pests

Lentil foliage with delicate tendrils — “Lens culinaris sl1” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Lens culinaris sl1” by Stefan.lefnaer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Aphididae (various spp.)

Pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) and cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora) are key pests of lentil, feeding on tender leaves/stems/pods.

Pea and bean weevil

Sitona lineatus

ICRISAT: Sitona spp. leaf weevils are major lentil pests, adults creating characteristic semicircular notches along leaf edges.

Plan your Lentils planting

When to sow and plant Lentils depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar, or the month-by-month guides that cover Lentils: November, December. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Lentil in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

References

  2. Sow under cover in late winter or outside from mid-spring; Garden Organic trials found heavier yields from an early April sowing. Direct-sown seed 3-4cm deep in rows 30cm apart, about 8-10g of lentils per square metre. Sprawling habit, reaching 40-50cm; stake young plants with twiggy pea sticks or canes and string if space is limited, to keep growth more upright. Water during dry spells. Harvest when pods turn brown. Grown commercially on a small scale in the UK (organic and non-organic trials across several southern English counties in 2017).

  5. Names Sitona spp. leaf weevils among lentil pests

  6. Peer-reviewed

9 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I sow lentils in the UK?

In Southern England, from early March. In Scotland, wait until early March. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.

When do I sow lentils?

Sow early March to early May.

How long do lentils take to grow?

Typically 90 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.

What soil pH do lentils need?

A pH of about 5.5–7.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.

What problems affect lentils?

Our data links 2 diseases and 2 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.

Get the UK Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for UK growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against RHS and Met Office guidance. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides UK

Crops With the Same Problems

Related Problem Guides

Last verified 2026-08-30

Plan Lentils by month

The months this guide gives for sowing or planting, each with the full list of jobs for that month in the UK:

More from the same group (peas & beans):

Relevant next steps

Where To Go From Here

Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.

UK garden plannerTurn this crop guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and a harvest record. All growing guidesBrowse every crop we cover for your region, A to Z. Planting CalendarSee how this crop fits alongside everything else you are growing.

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