Lettuce is a pop vegetable and used extensively in both the family kitchen and restaurants . Its popularity go on to grow as multitude become more health - conscious and look for hefty food to feed . Lettuce can be either a side beauty or the primary course and does n’t postulate even need to be cooked ! Lettuce is a moderately easy - to - grow vegetable and offers many change to prove in your home garden .
What is lettuce , anyway ?
Lettuce is a cool - season fair hardy veg , ordinarily planted by ejaculate in the springtime after the last icing and in late summertime for a evenfall harvest . Lettuce does not abide heat and high temperatures . There four kinds of lettuce for you to reckon for your home garden ( as well as many motley , or cultivars ) .
Four Kinds of Lettuce
Crisphead Lettuce
Crisphead , sometimes roll in the hay as iceberg lettuce ( iceberg lettuce is a cultivar of crisphead ) is probably the most plebeian case of lettuce you will incur in supermarkets . Crisphead is steady , orotund and has tripping unripened colour , crisp leaves . Crisphead lettuce does not tolerate warmth well and requires a farsighted growing period making it difficult to develop in the home garden . Crisphead takes 70 - 80 solar day to mature .
Butterhead Lettuce
Butterhead , also known as bib lucre , forms head like crisphead but has loose , softer heads with leaves that are less succinct . The outer leaves are either light-green - non-white or brownish with emollient interior leaves . Butterhead matures in about 70 days after sow in .
Leaf Lettuce
Leaf lettuce does not form a straits and its leaves grow loosely . The color of the leaves can vary greatly from red to purpurate to bronze . This type of lettuce is one of the sluttish and straightaway to grow in the family garden . Leaf lolly matures in about 40 - 45 days .
Romaine Lettuce
Romaine , also known as cos lettuce , grows in an good habit with darker fleeceable outer leaves and wanton inner leaves . The folio are steady than other dinero and have an almost sweet flavour . Romaine lettuce is increasing in popularity and is a favourite choice in salads . Romaine adopt approximately 70 days to mature .
Optimal Growing Conditions for Lettuce
Lettuce grows best in full sun ( 6 hour a Clarence Day ) , cooler temperature , and moist well - drained soil . As a coolheaded season vegetable , lettuce can stomach a light frost . In fact , moolah can loose its taste and form if turn in too much heat . Ideal temperatures for growing scratch are between 45 and 65 degrees . Lettuce is forgive of soil types but does arise advantageously in fecund , sandy - loam soil . It should be well draining and not heavyset or laboured . Organic affair can be bring to improve territory consistency .
How to Plant Lettuce
Butterhead and cos lettuce can be grown either from seed or transplant . In northern state , crisphead demand to be transplanted from seedlings because of the prospicient growing season it requires .
lolly seeds are very small so the bed postulate to be well disposed . The area of planting should be well crop and all clods and lumps need to be either remove or well integrate into the soil . Prior to adding fertilizer you should have a soil trial run performed . you may contact yourlocal extension officefor direction . If you have not performed a soil test you’re able to use a general 5 - 10 - 10 fertiliser at a rate of 3 - 4 Irish punt per 100 hearty feet . Be sure to water well after set .
you could plant in turn throughout bounce ( about 10 - 14 days asunder ) for multiple harvests . Putting organic mulch down will help keep the soil temperature consistent and reduce moisture loss .
Spacing of Lettuce Seeds and Plants
Lettuce seeds can be sown for either single or wide rows . Wide rows can be 12 - 15 inches across . Seeds should be planted about 1/4th to 1/2 in in depth . Plant about 10 seeds per foot . The cum should be watered right on after planting .
Leave 18 inch between rows for foliage lettuce and 24 inch for the other varieties . Lettuce usually need to be cut to prevent overcrowding . Leaf lettuce should be thin to about 4 - 5 in between plant ; other varieties can be spaced about 6 - 8 inches apart .
Caring for Lettuce
Keep lettuce seeds moist and do not have dry out during the sprouting catamenia . Weeding should be done with aid as lettuce plant have very shallow and frail root systems . During maturation keep the plants frequently and lightly watered for best resultant role .
Suggested Varieties of Lettuce to Grow
CrispheadMesa 659 ( fall ) , Ithaca
ButterheadBibbSalad BibbSummer BibbButtercrunchTaniaTomThumb ( miniature )
LeafSalad BowlGrand RapidsBlack Seeded SimpsonSloboltOakleafGreen IcePrizeheadRed SailsLollo RossoRubyRed Fire
RomaineValmaineParris Island Cos
Common Questions and Answers About How to Grow Lettuce
Can I eat bolted lettuce?
When your lettuce plant begins the process of bolting ( also called “ going to sow ” ) , that speedily growing flowering stem that catapult out of the center of the plant starts draining the rest of the lettuce ’s leaves of their sweetness and vitality . As a consequence , your homegrown bread leaves become more acrimonious and less delicious the longer the flowering angry walk is permitted to remain on the plant life . That means lettuce that has bolt is likely to have an altered flavor that ranges somewhere between vile and less than appetizing .
However , the lettuce is edible despite having bolted , so if you’re able to stomach it , feel free to eat it . Only harvest and consume the foliage of your go off sugar that are light to medium green , though — leaf that have darkened with bolting will be too bad and caustic to rust . memorise all about how to check the bolting of your lettuce plants for as long as possible by reading our articlePreventing Bolted Lettuce .
Does lettuce grow back every year?
Lettuce is grown as an yearbook and does not grow back every twelvemonth .
Does lettuce keep growing?
When you harvest lettuce using the “ cut and descend again ” method acting , it will continue to grow and regenerate its leaves many times before eventually exit to seed at the end of the season . To harvest gelt so that it will keep mature , use white , desex shears to clip away only the leaf you need about an inch above the crown where all the leaves fill . Only glean the parting you need to utilize for each 24-hour interval . You should always leave at least one third of the leaves intact so that the lettuce will continue to grow . If your lettuce begins to beetle off by sending up a flowering stalk from the centre of the plant , snip off the flowering stalk to slow the run off outgrowth a bit , and you ’ll be able to continue harvest home from your dough plant life a niggling while longer . If you do n’t dress off the flowering straw when you see it , the parting of your clams flora will become bitter as it describe energy and imagination away from the rest of the plant .
Does lettuce like manure?
Manure , compost , or another organic material can be worked into the soil where you will be planting scratch before the season begins . Thesesoil amendmentspack the grunge full of aliment to help lettuce grow hefty and strong . Simply spread manure or your desired organic material over the area where you will be growing lettuce , then work it into the ground to a astuteness of four to six in . Manure is especially high in nitrogen ,
Does lettuce need fertilizer?
Lettuce plants do best when they receive fertiliser and the soil is amended with organic material before they are planted . About every two workweek once kale plants have their first on-key leaves , gardener should apply a balanced water - soluble or granular fertilizer . Look for a fertilizer where the three numbers separated by hyphens are adequate or as near to equal as possible , such as a 5 - 5 - 5 or 10 - 10 - 10 blend . Lettuce industrial plant do in force when they get a dosage at half the potency direct on the software package every two weeks .
Before sowing lettuce seeds , gardeners should form several inches of well - rotted manure , aged compost , fish photographic emulsion , or another nutritious organic material into the top six to 12 inches of soil where lettuce will be planted . It ’s good to amend filth in the fall before planting in the spring so there ’s pile of time for the additive to damp down and unloosen its nutrients into the stain before lettuce is implant .
Does lettuce need full sun?
Lettuce plants growing in full sun that receive at least six hours of direct sunlight each day will produce leaves the fastest , but gelt plants will tolerate growing in fond shade as well . As a matter of fact , in hot mood or quick clip of year , some tone in the good afternoon hours go a longsighted way toward saving boodle plants from the stress of photo to the beating sun .
Does lettuce need sun to germinate?
Yes , wampum leaf require sufficient sunlight so they will germinate successfully . That ’s why these tiny seeds are planted so shallowly — as well as the reason seeds may give out to sprout if they ’re buried too deeply when they ’re sow in .
How deep are lettuce roots?
The deepness of a lettuce flora ’s root organization can vary depending on the variety you ’re farm and your climate and soil type . In most casing , though , the bulk of a cabbage plant ’s root system is contain in the top six inches of soil . The taproot , however , can stretch forth from 28 inch all the way to a depth exceeding six feet hole-and-corner .
How do I preserve lettuce from my garden?
Lettuce is best keep enfold in paper towel and either sealed into a plastic storage container or wrapped in hydrofoil and stored in the icebox in the crisper drawer . Lettuce maintain well between 32 and 35 degree Fahrenheit , so if your crisper has a temperature mount , crank it down as stale as potential . However , since the best manner to harvest most lettuce is the cut - and - add up - again method acting , your lettuce should unremarkably be on the plant in your garden until you need to use it .
How do you know when lettuce is ready to pick?
you could hold off for lettuce to age completely , harvest it as child lettuce , or reap it at the microgreen stage . Most gardeners begin to reap lettuce leaf from the plant once the folio have gain four inch long . Simply jog out as many leaf as you need at a time , about an inch above the treetop of the plant where all the leaves meet , and the flora will continue to produce , supplant leaves so you may harvest from it again .
How do you prune lettuce?
Lettuce plants do n’t need to be pruned in the sentience that some other plants do , where a works is cut back back early in the season so it will grow shaggy and more stocky . just trim off any leaves you wish well to practice while the flora is growing , about an column inch above the crown where all the leaves meet , so the flora can continue to grow . When you harvest this way , using the “ thin out and come again ” method acting , the leaves will be replaced as the flora keep rise , so you could harvest many times throughout the season .
How do you stop bolting?
It ’s not possible to all stop your scratch plant life from bolting . Going to seed is inevitable as a natural part of the plant ’s life cycle , and nothing a gardener does will stop it from happening . However , there are thing you’re able to do to slow down the plant ’s propensity to bolt and delay the mental process as long as possible . First , lay out yourself up for achiever by choosing bolt - resistant varieties of cabbage . Just expect for the words “ bolt resistant ” on seed packets or in product descriptions . These lettuce variety have been proven to hold out longer against bolting , even in the warm weather that tends to get plants to go to seed . You should also lop the inflorescence stalk off once it appears to extend the life history of your plant a scrap further . When you trim down the flowering chaff off , your plant life can continue to develop for a little while longer , and the leaves wo n’t turn bitter like they would if you exit the unfolding stalk on , as it draws energy by from the rest of the industrial plant ’s foliage . Finally , harvest home properly from your lettuce plant life can help stave off bolting as long as possible . ensure that you use neat , unsex shear whenever you harvest to preclude spreading disease in your garden . For head up varieties , just cut the top two thirds of the plant off . Other variety of simoleons can be glean using the cut and come again method , in which you trim off only the leaves you will practice immediately . Trim off leave-taking about an column inch above the peak of the plant , where all the leaves meet . When you harvest this way , start by hire the out leave of absence at the cornerstone of the plant , and work your way up toward the center of the plant . Never bump off more than two thirds of the lettuce industrial plant ’s foliage at a sentence so it will carry on growing after you ’ve harvest .
How long does it take to grow lettuce?
There ’s a groovy hatful of diverseness in on the dot how long it will take for your loot to produce from a seed to a mature plant with leaves that are ready to reap , depending on which varieties of lettuce you choose to grow in your garden . Most types of leafage moolah will be ready to pick in an average of 45 to 55 day , with manoeuvre varieties of lettuce taking a while longer to develop . Romaine moolah , for good example , takes between 75 and 85 day to mature , and crisphead bread matures in a 70 to 100 - day period . If your ejaculate came in a package or if there ’s selective information usable about your variety of lettuce online , consult those specifics provided by the manufacturer — they often list an expected number of twenty-four hour period to harvest to avail gardeners design ahead .
How many inches of soil does lettuce need?
Lettuce sown straight off into garden filth or in a farm bed can boom in just 12 to 18 inches of loosen , racy ground . Lettuce plant that grow in containers can do well in a pot that ’s just six column inch deep .
How much nutrients does lettuce need?
The nutrients lettuce most needs to be present in the soil include Ca , nitrogen , phosphorus , potassium , and atomic number 12 . Nitrogen is especially essential for cabbage to turn goodish and warm , but too much nitrogen can lead in tipburn or soft rot . The exact amount of N needed will bet on what has antecedently been acquire in the soil , how much lettuce will be grown , stain character , and other element . For lesson , sandlike soil will need more atomic number 7 available for crops due to strip . To determine what nutrients are already present in your territory so you bonk what may want to be added , you may contact your local Extension berth to have a soil test direct .
How much sun and water does lettuce need?
Lettuce plants need full Sunday to partial shadowiness , or between six and 10 hours of sunlight each day , although in tender neighborhood , lettuce plant will benefit from the protection of tincture in the afternoon . Water pelf works twice a workweek , or once every four or five days , to a profoundness of six inch . If you are n’t sure whether it ’s time to irrigate your lettuce plants , you may check the wet spirit level of the soil with your finger . Just stick your finger into the soil about an inch close to where lettuce plant are growing . If the ground feels damp to the touch and dirt stick to your skin , the ground is still moist , and the lettuce plants do n’t need to be watered just yet .
How much water does a lettuce plant need per day?
lolly plants do not want to be watered daily . or else , irrigate them twice a workweek , or once every four or five days , to a depth of six in . If you are n’t certain whether your lettuce demand to be water , you’re able to agree the moisture stage of the stain with your finger . Just vex your finger an in into the soil near where lettuce plants are grow . If the soil is moist to the touch and earth sticks to your finger , the ground is still damp , and plants do not yet need to be water .
How often should lettuce be watered?
Lettuce works should be watered about twice a week , or once every four or five days , to a deepness of six in . If you are n’t sure whether it ’s meter to irrigate your lettuce plants , you may use your finger to test the wet degree of the soil . Just stick a finger’s breadth into the soil near where your lettuce plants are grow about an inch deep . If the soil feels dampish to the touch or sticks to your finger , the ground is still dampish , and it ’s not clock time to water your plant just yet . If it seems like the ground is n’t keep moisture well enough , and you ’re get to irrigate your lolly plant too often , weigh adding alayer of mulchabout two inch thinck . Mulch will help keep the soil coolheaded and prevent wet from evaporating , keeping it available in the ground for your plants longer
Is bolted lettuce poisonous?
While bolted lettuce tends to begin lose flavor and becoming more bitter the longer the efflorescence stalking has been present on the plant , they are not poisonous and are dependable to eat .
Is Buttercrunch lettuce cut and come again?
you’re able to glean Buttercrunch lettuce varieties as cut and come again if you like , picking foliage from the outside and base of the plant . Always leave alone a lettuce flora with at least a third of its foliage when you ’re done harvest . If you favour , you’re able to wait and reap the entire pass of Buttercrunch lettuce instead .
Should I let my lettuce flower?
It ’s really only beneficial to permit your lettuce plants to run off or flower if you want to pick up their seeds . The flowering stem make up the lettuce virulent the longer it stick on the plant , so if you desire to keep rust the lettuce , crop the flowering shuck off as shortly as you notice it . Some nurseryman draw up their boodle once they have bolted and embed a novel one in their plaza . you could also cut them off all the way down to the ground and allow them sprout again from the ascendant system when temperature chill down in previous summer or former fall .
Should I soak lettuce seeds before planting?
soakage lettuce seeds before planting them can assist increase the germination rate , specially if temperature are specially warm at planting time . plainly allow the seeds to soak for 16 to 24 hour in a well - lit area . cherry light is most beneficial , but when it is not available , any bright light will do . Soaking seeds in a dark domain , or for few than 16 hour , is not beneficial to germination and may actually decrease the germination pace of your lettuce seed .
What can you do with lettuce after it bolts?
If you catch bolting soon enough , you may get a bite more emergence out of your moolah plant life and prevent the farewell from becoming acid by trimming the flowering angry walk off the plant using clean , sterilised shears . Once lettuce has bolt , you’re able to cut it back all the way to the flat coat and wait until temperature chill in later summer or fall — the lettuce will sprout again for a second harvesting .
Alternatively , you could donate bolt lettuce to an animal shelter where it will dish up as a dainty for rescue rabbit , guinea bull , or bird . If you leave the lettuce where it is in the garden , it will function as a trap plant to draw in slug , earwigs , and pill bugs , keeping the rest of your crop safe . You will also be able to hoard the seed of bolted lettuce if you allow the seed to work and grow . When bolted lettuce is allowed to stay in the garden and flower , it attractsbeneficial pollinatorsthat will benefit the whole garden .
What can you not plant with lettuce?
Although lolly has so many excellent familiar planting partner , there are a few plant it just does n’t get along with — the entirebrassica family , for example . head off planting lettuce too close to any of the crops listed here .
What is the best time to plant lettuce?
The safe clock time to establish lolly in the spring is two calendar week before the last frost of the season . In the fall , plant clams eight workweek before the first frost date . If you are n’t certain of the Robert Frost dates in your region , refer to our articleHow to Learn Your Last Frost Date or Freeze Date .
What is the spacing for lettuce?
You will imbed more seeds at first than will stay on once they are thinned . The exact spatial arrangement bet on shekels variety . On average , about 10 seeds are planted per foot in rows 12 to 18 inch apart . leafage dough plant life need about four inches between plants once thinned . Romaine mixture should be thinned to stand six to eight in aside . Head scratch varieties should be 10 to 12 inches aside once they ’re thinned out .
What month do you plant lettuce?
The precise month moolah should be planted depends on the region in which you are garden . In the outflow , embark on planting lettuce two weeks before your last expected frost of the time of year . For fall planting , seed lettuce seeds eight weeks before the first hoarfrost of the fall . If you are n’t sure when the frost dates are in your area , refer to our articleHow to Learn Your Last Frost Date or Freeze Date .
When should I cut my salad leaves?
The number of days until bread can be hack , either as baby lettuce or as mature leaves , alter depending on the potpourri of lettuce you are growing . you could tally the seed packet or product description for the number of days to harvest to get hold out how long it will take your variety of lettuce to mature . Lettuce can be disregard and used as baby lettuce as soon as the leave are heavy enough to make harvest them worthwhile . Many gardener begin harvest home wampum once the leaf have hit a height of four inches . merely utilise blank , sterilized shear to clip the folio off the plant , and they will develop back several times .
Where is the best place to plant lettuce?
Lettuce produce best in a maculation where it will get full sunlight ( at least six hr per day ) , but in specially raging regions , lettuce will benefit from the protection of some afternoon shade . It require loose soil with lot of drainage that stays coolheaded for thrive . Drainage and victuals of ground can be improve by rectify it with the addition of constitutional material , such as well - decompose compost or manure . A sandy , loamy soil is best , with a pH degree between 6.0 and 6.5 . ( If you are n’t sure of the pH level of your dirt , refer to our articleHow to Test pH in Your Soil . )
Will bolted lettuce regrow?
Some gardener cut the flowering stalk off of lettuce plant because this allow the shekels to live a while longer and prevents the leaves from becoming bitter , as they will otherwise do when bolt occurs . In order for dinero to grow back if it is trim or pruned , the lettuce should be in its leaf formation phase , when days are remain in its estimated sidereal day to harvest or the plant life has not yet bolted . If wampum has been allowed to bolt , you could cut the plant back to the ground ( impart origin entire ) , and when temperature cool down down in belated summer or fall , the works will sprout again for a 2nd harvest .
Will lettuce grow back after cutting?
When a leaf smorgasbord of lettuce plant has not yet bolted and is still in its leaf organisation level , it will grow back after being swerve . Cutting back does not cultivate on pass lucre , as they will die back or else of regrowing . To crop leaf lettuce so it will grow back , cut off the plant down to a summit of one or two inch using light , sterilized shear .
As long as you cut back the lettuce back when it is in its leafage formation point ( when days remain in its estimated day to harvest and bolting has not yet begun ) , shave it back should readjust its emergence cycle and slow down the progression toward bolting . Keep water pronto uncommitted for your lettuce works after trimming it back . The regrown head will not be as big as your first harvest home was , and it may be quick to be pick in as little as two hebdomad .
Want to learn more about growing lettuce?
If you live in a Midwestern state sojourn this site forrecommended Midwestern lettuce varieties .
If you dwell further to the south , check out this site for somerecommended boodle salmagundi for southerly state .
