10 secrets for planting and growing lettuce (+video)
December 3, 2021 18 Comments
We plant lettuces in the garden and in pots to enjoy them fresh in our salads!
Lettuce is the most popular leafy vegetable. Simple and easy to grow, lettuce is planted almost all year round and is an ideal choice for beginning gardeners.
Like all vegetables when eaten fresh, the lettuces we grow in our garden have a completely different taste and texture than those we find in the store.
Although many do not know it, lettuce has a special nutritional and nutritional value, as it contains many vitamins, minerals and plant fibers.
There are many varieties of lettuce to choose according to the season we plant while we need to ensure suitable conditions for them to grow.
Let’s take a look at the most popular lettuce varieties we can grow, along with tips on planting and caring for them, so we can enjoy the tastiest lettuces from our garden or balcony.
1. What are the most popular varieties of lettuce?
There are many varieties of lettuce to choose according to our preferences, the growing season.
Lettuce with green or red leaves, local and traditional varieties, improved varieties from abroad and lettuce hybrids.
Winter varieties, summer varieties with unique characteristics and a special taste that are worth trying. The most common lettuce varieties to grow are the following:
- Lettuce variety «Romana» (Romana) : It is the most widespread variety of lettuce, which is preferred by most amateur growers. It is considered the most classic traditional variety for winter salad and ripens in about 2-2.5 months from sowing. The «Romana» lettuce variety is characterized by upright growth at a height of 20-25 cm with very tasty and tender oblong dark green leaves.
- «Salat» lettuce variety: An equally well-known lettuce variety is the «salad» lettuce, also known as «French» lettuce or French salad. This particular variety is characterized by the fact that it does not form a closed head and has loose, tender, tasty leaves. An excellent choice for early plantings, the ‘salad’ lettuce variety matures quickly in 55-60 days.
- «Butter» lettuce variety : An extremely widespread variety in Central and Northern Europe, «butter» lettuces stand out for their smooth, tender and tasty leaves. They form a closed head and are characterized by a long cultivation period of 3 months from sowing to harvest.
- «Iceberg» lettuce variety : A particularly tasty and distinctive lettuce variety is iceberg (iceberg) which is very popular in North America. Iceberg lettuce features characteristic curly leaves that form a round head and when ready to harvest resembles cabbage. Iceberg lettuce leaves are particularly crisp and very cool.
- «Lola» lettuce variety : Lola is a characteristic lettuce variety with a large, open, tufted head. The «loles» have curled leaves, very tender and soft, light green or even reddish in color. It is usually harvested 2-3 months after sowing.
- Chinese Lettuce Variety : An extremely interesting variety to try is Chinese Lettuce which looks more like asparagus than lettuce. A key characteristic of Chinese lettuce is that it is harvested for the stems of the stem and not for its foliage.
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2. What conditions does lettuce need to grow?
Lettuce is planted in the garden, in pots or planters on the balcony, and lettuce can also be grown in a greenhouse.
As a cool season plant, lettuce needs a cool environment and is grown at relatively low temperatures between 14-19°C.
In general, it prefers sunny planting locations, although it also grows satisfactorily in semi-shaded locations. At high temperatures, premature growth of the flowering shoot of the lettuce is caused, while at very low temperatures and frost, burns are caused on the foliage.
Some varieties of lettuce are more resistant to the relatively high temperatures of spring and others are better adapted to the frost of winter.
For planting lettuce, the ideal soil is fertile, cool, with a high content of organic matter that ensures good drainage.
If our garden has very heavy clay soil that collects water, we create raised embankments (ramps) that help us to better drain the water.
We can also grow lettuce in raised flower beds to make it easier to care for the crops, as well as to have better management of nutrients and water.
Raised flower beds in the garden: Construction and advantages (+video)
3. How do we plant lettuce seeds and plants?
Lettuce is propagated by seed, so experienced growers start by planting lettuce seed in a nursery. To plant in a seedbed, place the seed at a depth of one centimeter. It is important to maintain relative humidity and suitable temperature in the seedbed between 15-21°C for the germination of lettuce seeds.
Initially, the first two leaves that lettuce plants produce are very small and incomplete. The next leaves that are normal in size and indicative of the variety of lettuce we have planted, we call them first real leaves. When the young lettuce plants have developed three to four true leaves, after 3-4 weeks, they are ready to be transplanted into the field.
For novice gardeners, we recommend starting with ready-made lettuce plants that we supply from nurseries.
Lettuce is important to plant at the proper planting distances: 30 cm between lettuce plants and about 60 cm between planting lines to have better ventilation and avoid disease development.
Appropriate planting distances for vegetable crops
4. How do I grow lettuce in a pot on the balcony?
If we don’t have a garden, we can easily plant lettuce in a pot on the balcony! Growing lettuce in a pot does not present any particular difficulties, as long as we prefer a balcony with western or eastern exposure to avoid intense sunshine and strong north winds.
We use low pots or planters, 20-30 cm deep, for transplanting, as lettuce has a superficial root system that does not go deep.
For growing lettuce in a pot, we use topsoil suitable for horticulture and enriched in nutrients. We place gravel at the base of the pot for better drainage of the soil, i.e. to remove excess water more easily. More information on growing lettuce in a pot can be found in the detailed article we have published.
How to grow lettuce in a pot
5. How often do lettuces need watering?
Lettuce prefers a cool soil environment as they have a superficial root system. Thus, to keep their substrate relatively moist, regular watering with relatively small amounts of water is required.
The frequency of watering becomes higher, perhaps even daily, in periods of high temperatures, especially in early autumn, late spring and mid-summer.
Frequent watering is essential in spring plantings in order to keep the lettuce leaves cool and tender with a rich flavor.
In cases of lack of water, the lettuce leaves harden, begin to turn bitter and the flowering stem (flower) develops prematurely, which will then give us the seeds.
In conditions of excessive moisture due to watering, lettuce can experience root rot and yellowing of the leaves.
Lettuce needs light and regular watering
6. How often do we apply fertilizer to the lettuce crop?
Before we plant our lettuces, it is important to incorporate plenty of well-digested manure along with compost to improve the soil. In this way, we make the soil more fertile for cultivation and with better quality characteristics.
In addition, for the rapid growth of the lettuce foliage, we incorporate, around the root of the plant, 1-2 tablespoons of well-digested manure or organic fertilizer with a high nitrogen content every 2-3 weeks.
Fertilizer: Categories, types and how we choose
7. Which insects and which diseases affect lettuce cultivation?
The lettuce crop is affected by various fungal diseases that cause yellowing and spots on the foliage or even root and shoot rots. For their preventive treatment, we can spray with a copper preparation that we get from agricultural stores. Alternatively, we can spray with a homemade solution that we make by dissolving a teaspoon of baking soda and two tablespoons of olive oil in 2 liters of water.
Lettuce plants are also attacked by mealybugs and mealybugs, the annoying white gnat that causes honeydew on the foliage. To deal with them, we get organic potassium salt preparation from agricultural stores and spray our lettuces every 2 weeks.
Alternatively, for the preventive treatment of mealybugs and mealybugs, we can use dissolve 1 tablespoon of grated green soap in 1 liter of water and spray our plants.
The most dangerous enemy that eats lettuce leaves is snails. To deal with snails in lettuce, we use ash or iron phosphate fertilizer which are repellent to snails. Sprinkle the ash or iron phosphate around each lettuce plant root or spread it laterally in rows next to each lettuce planting row.
4 natural ways to drive snails out of the garden
8. What are the main problems of lettuce cultivation?
Although as we said the cultivation of lettuce is quite easy, we may face some problems such as yellowing, rotting and eating of the leaves or our lettuces not growing quickly. Let’s look at the main causes below to deal with them and harvest big and cool lettuces.
– Why do lettuce leaves turn yellow?
Lettuce leaves may turn yellow due to excessive moisture or due to an attack by a fungal disease. Also, yellowing of the leaves can occur if the soil is not fertile and we have not added organic fertilizer.
– Why do lettuces rot?
Lettuce can rot due to excess moisture and poor drainage in the soil. If we have planted lettuce in pots and planters, they should have holes while at the same time we make sure to remove the excess water after watering from the saucers.
– Why are the lettuce leaves eaten?
The eating of the lettuce leaves mainly in the action of the snails in our garden on rainy days. Also, young lettuce plants, especially in the first week of growing when they are very tender, can be eaten whole by birds. In this case, to protect them from birds, we can cover them with a special net.
– Why don’t lettuces grow?
Lettuce may not grow and become stagnant when the soil they are planted in is not fertile and loose and at the same time we do not add fertilizer. Also, in several cases, lettuces do not grow in hot weather as they grow best in a cool environment.
9. When are the lettuces ready and when can we cut the lettuce leaves?
Lettuce is ready for harvest about 1.5-2 months after transplanting, when it has formed a head, depending on the variety and the prevailing weather conditions. At this stage, it has tender leaves that do not taste bitter. We can harvest the whole lettuce plant by cutting it from the root with a knife.
During the winter months, we can also gradually cut the peripheral leaves of the lettuce that have already grown, leaving the central ones to grow even more and cut them in the next harvest. We prefer to cut the lettuces in the morning hours, as then they are cooler and more tender.
We can cut the lettuce leaves as they grow
10. And one last secret for growing lettuce
Lettuce can give excellent production when planted together with other vegetables. Vegetable co-cultivation is an ecological way of farming, where we save space and nutrients, while our plants help each other and grow better. The lettuce crop grows exceptionally well when planted together with cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, beetroot, onion, garlic, leek, cucumber, beans and strawberries.
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