lettuce
Lettuce From Seed to Harvest
SEED
SPROUT
SEEDLING
MATURE
Overview
Easy - to - grow cool weather vegetable and can be grown spring to fall
Level of Difficulty: Easy to Grow!
Plant Spacing: 8 - 12 inches
Days to Harvest: 87 - 112 days from seed
Plant Care Basics:
Sun - Full sun to partial shade
Soil - Requires well-drained soil. Prefers deep, loose, fertile soil, high in organic matter, with pH 6.0 to 7.0.
Water - Needs consistent moisture, especially as plants grow large.
Planting + Growing
Growing lettuce in the garden is easy when planted under the right conditions. Lettuce likes full sun to partial shade. Your soil should be loose enough to drain well. Lettuce can grow crowded, but leaves will be smaller and crowded plants may tend to bolt and go to seed more quickly. To optimize growth and a bountiful harvest, follow the spacing guidelines below.
Starting from Seed. If you're starting from seed, plant 1 - 2 seeds about 1/2 an inch down in a small container of soil. Water the soil and place it in a sunny area. Check the soil daily to water if necessary. Once your seeds sprout and have true leaves, transplant them outside or into a larger container with about 6 - 14 inches of space (depending on the lettuce type) in between each plant.
Starting from Seedling. If you picked up a lettuce seedling from Sweet Water's seedling pick up, plant the seedlings into soil, allowing 6 - 14 inches of space (depending on the lettuce type) in between each plant.
Container growing lettuce. Lettuce will grow in an 8-inch pot. In larger containers, like a garden bed, you can plant more than one lettuce 6 - 14 inches apart from each other.
Other notes...companion plants. Vegetables such as asparagus, beets, and carrots. Chives, turnips, and garlic to repel aphids.
Harvesting
You can begin to harvest your greens when your lettuce plants looking full. If you wait until they’re much taller than 9-12 inches, they will lose some of their flavor. Cut the outer leaves first to allow the tender inner leaves to grow. Be careful to not damage the plant’s center.
Always take the largest, oldest leaves and leave the young ones to continue growing. If you harvest carefully, the new leaves will grow and provide leaves to harvest for many weeks. Rinse off lettuce leaves and store them in the refrigerator in ventilated plastic bags.
Cooking
More info coming soon....
Links to More Resources
More info coming soon....