VEGETABLES > LETTUCE > SOWING

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LETTUCE GUIDES

Several lettuce plants growing in soil.

HarvestingSowing

Lettuce come in several character – iceberg lettuce and romaine , butterhead and loose - foliage .

However , they all have a couple of attributes in common : they are everyone ’s first ingredient for salad , and they are all grown in a similar way .

a leafy lettuce plant growing in a planter in a garden

By mixing up those wampum types in your garden , you’re able to make your salad more varied !

shekels are yearly that are grow from seed and they are very tractable to successional sowing , though you have to be on your guard during ardent summers to forefend plant bolting .

The idealistic daytime temperature for raise lettuce are between 15 ° C and 21 ° C , but there is some ‘ room for error ’ .

A hand holding some soil over a planter that is being prepared to grow lettuce with other plants such as beetroot growing in the background

develop these leafy jet is a mere four - footstep process :

1) Prepare The Soil

Select a site that gets full Sunday or at least morning Dominicus . A sheltered spot would be preferable ; many dough varieties need it , though some do n’t .

Using a hoe or naturalise implement , till the background well . You do n’t need to go very cryptic – about 20 curium is enough .

Mix in ample organic compost or well - waste manure .

A hand patting down the soil into the planter

Though the grease should not be great and should drain very well , it should hold back wet .

Amendment with organic compost should do the trick but you may always mix in vermiculite as necessary .

Soil pH levels from 6.1 to 7.3 – slenderly acidic to neutral – will be perfect .

A hand holding a label for all year round lettuce with a planter full of soil and other plants in the background.

If you live in a lovesome area of the country and intend to inseminate in summer , your shekels plants may not germinate , and if you mature this crop through summer , your loot plants may bolt .

“ If I ’m sowing lettuce in the summer , I ’ll put some shade nett up around the newly inseminate trays to avoid lolly seeds from entering dormancy through condition being too raging , which encounter quite easily in a glasshouse , ” parcel Colin Skelly , a Master Horticulturist .

“ This has happened to whole great deal of my newly sow seeds before , so I ’m quite conservative to make certain they do n’t ‘ bake ’ once sown . ”

A hand holding a packet of lettuce seeds that they are sowing into fresh soil in a planter

To ensure germination you could sow in seeds in tray that are place in a cool fix and to avoid losing your lettuce craw , select a spot that gets afternoon shade and keep the soil systematically dampish ( and be certain to use inhuman H2O ) .

2) Sow Seeds

In most regions of the UK , you may sow lettuce seeds at any time from April through to former September .

To do this , make a very shallow drill , about 1 centimeter inscrutable , and sow seed thinly in it .

address very lightly with a mixture of constitutional compost , vermiculite , or both .

A packet of seeds being emptied into freshly prepared soil in a planter

Do not pack in the culture medium because these seeded player need light to germinate .

The spacing between rows depends upon the size of the varieties but you ca n’t go wrong with a course spacing of 30 - 40 curium .

you may inseminate seeds every two weeks – successional sowing – to draw an on-going harvest .

A patch of soil in a planter with lettuce seeds being watered by a watering can

For the most part , you could sow seeds until about September , but this calculate on your realm ’s first frost date and the time it choose a given type of boodle to senesce .

Quite a few boodle varieties can hold a light frost or two , but it is heady not to inseminate seeds if the lettuce will not be ready for harvesting by the first expect frost .

3) Water

Lettuce needs shallow but even tearing so that the dirt can stay systematically moist .

In fact , besides overly warm weather , dry territory can cause lettuce to bolt .

On the other paw , soil should not stay soggy either .

A handful of lettuce leaves being held in front of a garden after being picked.

Every few days check the soil with a finger to about 3 centimetre .

If it is not moist , water . Be certain to use cold water and to body of water by mid - break of the day .

you’re able to use a sparse layer of mulch over and around the develop web site to maintain wet .

It is a undecomposed idea to add vermiculite to mulch when the aim is moisture conservation .

4) Thin The Seedlings

Start to thin your loot after the seedling have put out two on-key leaves .

Remove the poke and seedlings indicate odd growth .

Thin again after two to three weeks , and do so again if necessary .

The aim is for the growing plants to be space 15 - 25 cm apart .

As for the thinnings , they should be move to the kitchen as your first lettuce harvesting of the season !