If you subsist in a temperate climate , it ’s possible to enjoy a variety of fresh lettuces all year long … from early spring directly on until the final stage of wintertime . From an organic horticulture viewpoint , the best features of lettuce include the facts that it ’s relatively easy to grow , involve nothing but skillful compost for fertiliser , and can be plant wherever there ’s a lilliputian extra space in the garden , whenever in the season that space might seem .
It does n’t need its own specially - fix bed to thrive . loot are also particularly well - fit for sundry planting , in which other works are interspersed among the heads ( or frailty versa ) .
Growing Lettuce in Cooler Temperatures
To create your own twelvemonth - round lettuce garden , begin by planting other fountain varieties of point lettuce in a sunny place in March . Ideally , they should be planted in rows , about nine inch apart . you may reap the first larder , tender point for salads within a month or so . summertime variety of head lettuce can follow in April or May , but do n’t require them to age quite as fast in the hotter weather condition . However , they should be ready by the end of summer .
Unlike most moolah , leafage lettuces do n’t form head , and this makes them ideal for planting in any open space and along boundary line . This long - term lettuce will last for most of the growing season if you carefully harvest the leaves a few at a time . They ’ll rise back , so a industrial plant can keep producing for months . To see a continuous harvesting , you should sow Modern folio lettuce plants wherever there ’s a disruption in your garden . These variety will help you bridge the harvest spread between other form of lettuce , to control you ’ve always vex something leafy for the salad .
Growing Lettuce in Warm Temperatures
A well lettuce for deep summer is Iceberg , which is heat - tolerant , produce crispy , thick head , and preserves very well in the icebox . Endives can also be planted throughout the summer for pin and early wintertime harvesting , but be certain you pick them before it receive too cold . And speak of cold , an effective and vitamin - copious appendage of the lettuce family is lamb ’s lettuce , which grows in the winter and comes in both small- and broad - leaf variety . It should be planted in August or September , for ripen in former leap just before your first head lettuces .
If you like tart , aromatic accession to your winter salads , consider radicchio and Gallic endive ( witloof ) , both of which should be planted in June . French endive is frost tolerant to a certain arcdegree , and can be harvested in late fall . you’re able to pick your radicchio from December on , throughout the winter months . Just be certain that , with the radicchio , you remove the long gullible leaves in the fall , so that the tasty red - browned rosette matures by rights .
Whatever scratch you choose to plant , keep an eye out for punch . If you ’d like to experiment with mixed planting , essay kohlrabi , Brassica oleracea , onion , tomatoes , and bean . Leaf lettuce also go well with comfrey , red common beet , asparagus , and finocchio .
Want to learn more about growing lettuce year round?
Here are some helpful resources : Producing Lettuce Year Roundfrom Penn State Extension
And , do n’t miss this YouTube video recording on course screening and calcium to extend the growing time of year :
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