Lettuce Continue

As you may have suspected from the title, the subject of today's informational post is lettuce!

Seed

We’ve actually grown lettuce quite a few times in the past couple of years. If I recall correctly, last year we started them indoors and then while we were transplanting them, they ended up getting knocked over by the wind. In the end, I believe we just direct sowed a new batch.

There are a lot of different varieties of lettuce that can be organized into four categories: looseleaf, romaine, crisphead, and butterhead. When we grew lettuce in the past, we generally have only grown looseleaf varieties. As stated above, lettuce can be started indoors and transplanted or direct sowed outside. Lettuce likes cool weather, which means spring and fall is when it tends to do best. It does not particularly like summer.

When we start them inside (roughly 4-6 weeks before the last spring frost at the very least), the seeds should be ¼ to ½ inch deep in the soil. There really isn’t much to worry about as long as we keep their soil moist and do not overwater them. Once they have their first true leaves, the seedlings are ready to be transplanted!

Planting

Depending on what category the lettuce we’ve decided to grow, the distance between plants differs. Therefore, make sure to double check what the seed packet says to make sure you are giving them enough space. It might not be as big a concern with looseleaf lettuce; however with crisphead or butterhead lettuce that grow in heads, they definitely need enough space. The seedlings should be thinned to 4 inches apart once they have 3 or 4 true leaves. Be careful to not squash their roots as you plant them in the already prepared soil (friendly reminder to have added your compost and fish oil). Lettuce should be grown in a bed that receives full sun, but can also thrive in some shade if the weather is hot.

There are a lot of different plants that lettuce can be grown with for companion planting. Garlic or chives can help prevent aphids; tomatoes or other tall plants can provide shade; and so on. Be creative with your planning! Make sure you remember to water well right after transplanting to help the seedlings adjust to their new environment.

If you decide to direct sow, then remember that the seeds should be at a depth of ¼ to ½ inch deep. There really is not that big a difference in approach between direct sowing and starting indoors for lettuce.

An idea for a continuous harvest is successive planting. Essentially it means to start a new batch of lettuce every two weeks. Then as one batch of lettuce is harvested, the next batch will be close to being ready for harvest. I personally feel this would be more applicable for lettuce that grows heads than the lettuce that grows loosely. Successive planting seems to work best if the entire plant is harvested so a new plant can replace it. With the difference in harvesting technique for the lettuce, successive planting would then work better for lettuce that grows heads.

Greenhouse/Container

The only thing that needs to be said (well written) is that the containers used should be at least 6 inches deep with drainage holes. Everything else should be roughly about the same with judicious application of common sense.

Maintenance

There are only about two things that need to be discussed: watering and bolting.

With lettuce, it is imperative to not overwater since an excess of water can cause root rot. All we need to do is keep the soil moist.

Bolting is the plant getting ready to produce seeds. We do not like bolting because it means that the lettuce will be bitter and therefore unpleasant to eat. You can tell if a plant has gone through bolting if its crown has grown longer. This process can get kickstarted by hot weather so consistent watering and shade can help slow it down. Once it does bolt, immediately harvest the lettuce and pull up the plant. It will not produce leaves anymore. Also as a general tip, mulching will help with weeding.

Pest/Disease

The main concern for lettuce are the pests: aphids, snails, slugs, caterpillars, etc. We have not really had any problems with them in the past so I wouldn’t be too concerned. There are several methods to deter pests that we have discussed in previous posts like pepper or neem oil. A common method that I’ve read is to simply pluck off the pests as you see them. While it can seem squicky, we’re gardeners! Besides, we have plenty of gloves in the benches waiting to be used.

Potential diseases or other ailments include lettuce rot, tipburn, and mildew. For lettuce rot, please remember when watering that the goal is for the water to reach the roots. Thus, stop watering the plant and water the soil instead. The leaves do not want nor appreciate getting soaked by the hose. Tipburn means that watering is inconsistent and/or too much sun. Mildew occurs with bad air circulation and being overly wet when they are not supposed to. With proper watering and care, we should not need to worry about these at all!

Harvest

Lettuce grows pretty quickly so make sure that you check in regularly with them. Most lettuce can be harvested about 30-70 days after they are planted depending on what variety they are. We can either harvest individual leaves or, if it is a head lettuce, we can harvest the entire head. If you are harvesting individual leaves, go from the outside in and leave the central bud alone so it can produce more leaves. If you are harvesting the entire head, cut it off about an inch above soil. To tell if they are ready for harvest, look at the size of the plant. If you think it is a decent size, then you can harvest it. Even tiny leaves can be harvested as baby lettuce. Just don’t want to wait too long to harvest or the lettuce will be bitter.

Sources

https://savvygardening.com/how-to-plant-lettuce/

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/lettuce/growing-lettuce.htm

https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-grow-fresh-delicious-lettuce-1403404

https://www.almanac.com/plant/lettuce

https://bonnieplants.com/how-to-grow/growing-lettuce/

https://www.burpee.com/gardenadvicecenter/vegetables/lettuce/all-about-lettuce/article10236.html

https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/successful-lettuce-patch/

https://gilmour.com/growing-lettuce

Until Next Time!!!