How to Grow Lettuce #vegetable_gardening

This is a half-hardy vegetable that you can keep growing all season long by planting one small crop at a time. Days to maturity tend to be short.

• Lettuce is a cool-season crop that grows well in the spring and fall in most areas. Lettuce seedlings will even tolerate a light frost. Temperatures between 45 F and 65 F are ideal.

• Loose, fertile, sandy loam soils, well-supplied with organic matter are best. Soil should be well-drained, moist, but not soggy with a slightly acidic pH of 6.0 to 6.5. Since the seed is so small, a well-tilled seedbed is essential. Large clods will reduce germination.

• Direct sowing is recommended as soon as the ground can be worked. Plant seeds ½ inch deep. Snow won’t hurt them, but a desiccating cold wind will.

• Seed may be sown in single rows or broadcast for wide row planting. When broadcasting, you'll need to "thin" for the proper spacing.

• Fertilize 3 weeks after transplanting. Lettuce prefers soil that is high in humus, with plenty of compost and a steady supply of nitrogen to keep if growing fast. Use organic alfalfa meal or a slow-release fertilizer.

• Lettuce will tell you when it needs water. Just look at it. If the leaves are wilting, sprinkle them anytime even in the heat of the day to cool them off and slow down the transpiration rate.

• Weed by hand if necessary, but be careful of plant roots: They are shallow.

• Before maturity, you can harvest leaf lettuce by simply removing outer leaves so that the center leaves can continue to grow. Butterhead or romaine types can be harvested by removing the outer leaves, digging up the whole plant or cutting the plant about an inch above the soil surface. A second harvest is often possible this way. Crisphead lettuce is picked when the center is firm.