How to Grow Lettuce
Lettuce
- often the beginner gardener's graveyard. Watch the gardening
TV programs, read the glossy gardening magazines - it all seems so
easy!
Sometimes it is, and sometimes it just isn't. Read on to see the
information you need to successfully grow lettuce where you live.
Many
varieties of lettuce are supremely suited to cooler
climates - they are a vegetable for cool conditions, and they need lots
of rain. They dislike hot conditions.
There
are four basic types, cos (also called romaine), leaf
(also called loose-leaf), crisphead, butterhead and stem (also called
asparagus lettuce).
How to Grow Lettuce Position and Soil Type
Lettuce
is not fussy about soil type as long as it is able to hold water. Their
ideal is a soil which is well-drained and well-dug.
Clay soil which has
been broken down with lots of peat is excellent. Do not apply
fertilizer or nutrient rich compost to the soil, this will cause rot.
The
key success factor with lettuce is to site them in a poition which
avoids the full blast of the sun in the middle of the day. Lettuces
bolts if the weather becomes too hot or if there is a shortage of
water.
Some
varieties of lettuce are more resistant to bolting than
others. The varieties Fatima and Dolly (butterhead lettuce) are both
slow to
bolt.
How to
Grow Lettuce -
Inter-cropping
Because
lettuce prefers cool conditions (great for Arizona
Winters) they are ideal vegetables for inter-cropping.
That is growing
them
near to other vegetables which crop at a different time, normally
later. Plant
lettuce where runner beans, broad beans, peas, brussels sprouts
broccoli or
sweet corn
will provide them with shade in the hottest part of the day.
If
you do grow lettuce near taller vegetables, take care that
they are not deprived of water. Lettuce need lots of water to mature
quickly
and larger crops may take the lion's share of moisture.
If this is the
case,
water the lettuce well in dry conditions.
How To
Sow Lettuce
Sow
every three weeks to ensure a continuous supply rather than a glut at
one time
- lettuces do not keep well in the ground when they have reached
maturity.
Use
a trowel to dig out shallow drills (half inch) deep, each drill being
(1ft)
apart from the next. Sow three or four seeds every (6in).
The seeds can be sown in
a continuous row, although this will require more seeds and more
thinning out
later.
Cover
the seeds with soil, firming it down with gentle pressure. If
the soil
is at all dry, water well. The seedlings should begin to appear in 7 to
14 days
time.
Gradually thin out the seedlings until they are (10in) apart.
The sowing
process is the
same for all lettuce at all times of the
year.
Where sowing in autumn for spring harvest.
Caring for lettuce
The
key requirements are water and weeding. Both can be greatly assisted by
laying
a covering of organic material (or black plastic cut to allow the
seedlings
through) around the plants, this will keep the soil moist and stop the
growth
of weeds.
It will also provide a
slow but steady stream of nutrients.
Harvesting Lettuces
Harvest
lettuces as soon
as they mature, they will quickly bolt if
left in
the ground too long. When the heart of the lettuce begins to form a
point and
grow upwards, it is beginning to bolt and should be picked immediately.
The
easiest way to harvest them is to pull them out with the roots using a
trowel
and trim with a sharp knife.
With
'picking' lettuces, leave them in the ground, cutting the outer
leaves
away from the plant near the base - new shoots will soon grow to
replace the
harvested ones.
Pests and Diseases of Lettuce
Lettuces
have a few
enemies which may not kill the crop, but
they will
slow down growth and make the plants less healthy.
The
pests are, lettuce root aphid (yellowing and decaying roots),
lettuce
root maggot (maggots present on the roots), greenfly and slugs.
All of
these
can be treated using chemicals from your local garden centre.
However,
a few
basic precautions should prevent them in the first place.
1.Weed
the bed - weeds provide a home
for pests
and diseases.
2. Remove harvested lettuces from the ground completely, do not leave
the stump
in the ground. It will rot and attract the attention of pests, root
aphid in
particular
3. Provide them with sufficient water especially in dry periods.
4. Do not grow lettuce in the same beds
as has
been previously used for chrysanthemums. Doing so will increase the
risk of
root maggot.
Send
me your comments.
Have you had success growning Lettuce?
Have you saved your Lettuce seeds?
Happy
Gardening
Roland
in Phoenix
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