Growing Your Own Lettuce

How to grow Lettuce

Growing your own lettuce can give you a crop, with very careful planning, throughout the year. Lettuce is amongst the most popular of salad vegetables and is easily grown. Through this page I will outline the tips and techniques for growing your own lettuce.

There are many types of lettuce but the three main ones are; cabbage varieties, which because they are hearted look like cabbages hence the name, The Cos varieties which are taller and crisper and then the frizzy-headed loose leaf American varieties.

The cabbage varieties of lettuce can be sub-divided into butterheads and crispheads. Butterhead varieties of lettuce have hearts that are butter-coloured and are tender. While the crispheads varieties of lettuce have much crisper hearts that tend to be white in colour. The taller Cos lettuce varieties are also blanched with many varieties having leaves that fold in on themselves to self blanch. The American varieties of lettuce do not have hearts as such and are picked as single leaves as and when required.

Since the 1960’s they have been many developments in producing varieties of lettuce that will grow at different times of the year, so it is now possible with care to grow lettuce through out the year. Further more there are dwarf varieties of lettuce that can be grown in single pots on a sunny windowsill. It is therefore very important hat you select the correct variety if you intend to grow outside of the “normal” growing season.

Soil Preparation

Although lettuces prefer a rich light soil that is well drained, they will grow well on most garden soils. In the autumn an application of farmyard manure, green manure or rich compost, at the rate of 6kg per sq m (13 lb per sq yd) is an absolute must fro growing your own lettuces, as this increases the humus content of the soil and helps to retain water, which is very important as lettuces are 90% water. Lettuces also need a soil pH of about 7.5 so a soil test before sowing is a good idea and if necessary apply lime to adjust the pH. If the soil is poor or ill-prepared then the lettuces will produce floppy leaves and will not heart-up.

Providing the soil has been properly prepare then lettuces are a good vegetable to intercrop between rows of other vegetables that take longer to grow, an example would be between tall varieties of peas.

Planning your crop

As already stated it is possible to grow your own lettuces throughout the year, this is done by successional sowings different varieties, i.e. sowing a small number of seeds at fortnightly (every two weeks) intervals. It will also be necessary to have the ability to maintain a temperature of 15°C (60°F) during the winter. Lettuce is classified by the season it is harvested, and not by the season of sowing, so pick your variety according to your needs at harvest time. The classification is really simple basically the four seasons, summer, autumn, winter and spring. I have given more details here on growing lettuce throughout the year.

Lettuce - Care and Cultivation.

As previously stated the soil must be well prepared and have plenty of humus to retain water. Lettuces also need warmth, moisture and a weed free environment, they also need protection for garden pests. Do not try to force the growth by overwatering. It is a good idea to place a mulch of well rotted organic matter to help keep moisture in the soil, or placing strips of black plastic near the plants will do the same thing especially if put down after rain. It is important to keep weeds down so regular hoeing between rows is needed to stop any weeds from taking hold.

If you are growing a cos lettuce variety that is not self-blanching it may be that you would like to blanch the plants to increase their crispness. If this is the case then about two weeks before you are ready to harvest place a rubber band around the thickest part of the plant, then a week later put another one 15cm (6¨) further up.

Harvesting Your Lettuce

Once lettuce plants are ready for harvesting they need to be cut as the quality will very quickly fall away. If the heart starts to form a point and push upwards the plant is beginning to bolt (go to seed). A lettuce is ready to harvest when the heart feels firm, test this by pressing with the back of your hand and not your fingers to avoid bruising.

Cut the lettuce with a sharp knife just above the lowest leaves, or pull out by the roots. If you are going to store the lettuce it is best to pull the whole plant and leave the roots on, cover the roots in a plastic bag and chill. The lettuce will keep fresh for about a week.

The American varieties are harvested in a different manner by pulling off individual leaves from the outside of the plant. These leaves should be firm but still young and tender.

So as you can see growing your own lettuce is not difficult, there is more information on growing throughout the year and growing your own lettuce in containers.