Lettuce is an easy salad plant to grow, which needs little space and is open to all.
Little list of lettuce facts
Name – Lactuca sativa
Family – Asteraceae
Type – annual
Height – 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm)
Exposure – full sun, part sun
Soil – ordinary
Harvest – around 6 weeks after sowing
Sowing, planting, caring for it and harvesting it will help you get great lettuce.
Lettuce is sown in situ in rows from February to October depending on the type and species. Starting early is possible, but you’ll need to protect your seedlings from the cold with cold frames, garden cloches or tunnels.
As for sowing in the summer, germination is difficult above 70°F (20°C), so favor a cooler spot in the garden, even in the shade eventually…
It is always best to sow or plant a smaller quantity of lettuce on a regular basis, so that you may always have crunchy fresh lettuce on hand.
In all cases, thin sprouts down to one every 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) as soon as the first leaves appear.
Did you know that salad and lettuce is perfectly suited to growing in pots? You’ll be able to savor it directly from your balcony or terrace.
If you wish to avoid the seedling stage, it is often possible to purchase your lettuce in nursery pots with small leaves.
You can plant them in the ground, either in your vegetable patch or in a garden box on a terrace or balcony.
Harvest your lettuce, salads or romaine when their core has reached a good size.
If you only need a few leaves, feel free to just harvest the ones on the outside from time to time.
Don’t delay to harvest your lettuce, because the crunchier, the better!
It is possible to harvest lettuce all season round, and even during winter.
Choose winter head lettuce varieties such as ‘Imperial Winter’, ‘Winter Marvel’, ‘Batavia Goutte de Sang’, ‘Val d’Orge’ or ‘Brune d’hiver’.
As soon as the cold hits, protect your seedlings and plants with a small greenhouse, a tunnel, or any other device that will help your lettuce grow even though temperatures are below freezing, providing as much light as possible. At right, light snow on lettuce leaves.
Rather easy to grow, lettuce doesn’t require much care during its entire growth phase, except for light, regular watering.
An annual belonging to the Asteraceae family, lettuce doesn’t deliver very energy-laden nutrition, but contains high amounts of water and an excellent omega 3 ratio.
There are also many trace elements, fibers, minerals and vitamins that our bodies require.
Even though it doesn’t keep very well, it still is possible to extend its shelf-life a bit longer if you wrap it loosely in a cloth or plastic wrap and store it in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator.
Stage sowing dates and varieties (lollo rossa, summer crisp, butterhead lettuce…) to produce lettuce almost all year long.
