A limited introduction is necessary for lettuce. The lettuce that forms dense heads for the entire harvest include varieties of butterhead, the upright Roman and cos lettuces, and the usual, crunchy iceberg.
Loose Leaf lettuces can be harvested entirely or a couple of leaves at a time, “cut-and-come-again.” Choose from classic bowl lettuce, pleasant styles of oakleaf, or any other colorful leaves that will shine garden beds and ornamental borders.
Lettuce
Annual
Full sun but will tolerate light shade
40 to 80 days depending on the type
Lactuca sativa
Depends on variety grown
Soil rich in organic matter and prefers a pH between 6.0 and 6.8
Highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum) will grow best in Zone 4 to 7
Lettuce is a mild seasonal vegetable which is ideally planted in springs or fall where there is no intense cold. Even though lettuce likes to grow on cooler, damper days, lettuce germinates best at a temperature of about 70 °F. This means you can begin seeds in the garden at the beginning of the spring rather than with seedlings. If the seed of lettuce remains cold and wet, the seed will literally decompose. You can always start seed indoors and then transplant the plants if there is a chance of frost.
Lettuce seeds need light to germinate, so the seed is lightly covered by soils and kept moist. Lettuce is a fast-growing plant. It is ready for transplantation if several leaves have grown. Do not allow the seedlings to grow too big before they plant or spring into seed the first opportunity they get.
Lettuce prefers organic soil like compost or composted manure. This is a crop in which extra nitrogen can not be negatively impacted because the leaf is everything you want from the plant. Adjust the soil in the mid-season between planting and side dress.
Also, lettuces need daily water more so than fertile soil. If the plants stay dry for long periods, particularly at warm temperatures, they become bitter, the leaves can sunbathe, and the plants can eventually be seeded. However, don’t leave the field wet or use mulch persistently or slugs are welcomed. Lettuce can be grown in summer, provided the plants are given plenty of shade and water.
The variety you cut down and come back are the best long- season choice. If your salad happens to be bolted, take it out of the dirt, roots and all and replant. This shock will slow down its production. Hold the plant moist until it is established. Lettuce is perfect for seed planting because it ripens fast and can be planted very safely. The collection of seasonal varieties would promote the succession.
Lettuce may also be planted in pots or used as a decorative landscape. Be mindful that some creatures enjoy lettuce as much as we do.
As soon as the outer leaves reach around 6 inches long, you can harvest cut and come styles again. You must ensure to pick before the head begins to stretch out as you expand lettuce. Then it’s about to bolt, and the flavor is going to die.
Maturing to a head requires time and hence makes it harder to grow without bolting than the loose varieties of leaves. Direct seed or transplant growing seedlings every nine to ten days for the most extended all-season harvest possible. Seeds can be spread and produce in vast quantities or scattered between 8 and 12 inches when directly planted. It’s safer to stagger it until the heads grow.
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