& Growing Tips

Lettuce right from the garden is far superior to anything you would buy off a grocery store shelf.  Don’t believe, me, just grow your own.  Not sure where to start?  Read on my friend, read on.

THE PLANT JUST KEEPS GIVING 

Not only can you harvest multiple times from one plant throughout the season, you can use continuous planting all season to get multiple crops.  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, but not a harsh wind.  Almost seems too easy doesn’t it?

HOW MANY LETTUCE SEEDS / PLANTS TO START

Start by determining the space you want to use to grow lettuce in.  You can plant your seeds every 4″ and rows 12″ apart.   If you’ve got a 4′ x 4′ space, you’ll have room for 48  plants.  So give yourself 50% more seeds, so in this case you’ll want to have 72 plants.  You will end up thinning out the smallest and sickliest looking seedlings. Therefore you’ll need to start with 78 seeds.  You can usually buy them in packages of 20, 50 and 100.  

VEGETABLE PLANTING SCHEDULE FOR LETTUCE

• Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before last spring frost date for earliest crop, and remember, you can plant lettuce seeds directly in your garden as soon as the soil is workable.  
• Harden off plants over the course of a week.
• Till aged manure or compost into your garden soil
• Put them in a part of your garden where they will have a bit of shade
• Water the transplants very well.
• Add mulch to conserve moisture.

GARDEN GROWING TIPS FOR LETTUCE

• Choose a spot that has some shade – the lettuce leaves need reprieve from the hot sun.
• Mulch thickly to retain moisture and regulate soil temperature. They like a lot of water, but need to be in well drained soil.
• Lettuce doesn’t do so well near broccoli, but you can put a row of lettuce between your brussels sprouts and you cabbage.  
• Lettuce can be grown near chives, garlic, tomatoes and cucumbers.  
• Take care not to disturb the roots

HARVESTING TIPS FOR LETTUCE

• You can harvest the outer leaves from the lettuce to enjoy, while leaving the rest of the plant to keep growing.
• When the plant is entirely ready, you’ll want to cut the whole plant from the ground.
• Cut heads from the plant taking a good part of the stem as well
• Fresh lettuce will keep well in the refrigerator for one to two weeks

Find This Useful?

Get your printable Planting Schedule -Starting Indoors – for reference and to help keep you on track, and check out these other gardening posts to help you get the most out of your garden

Starting Seedlings , Laying out your Plot, Maintenance Planners, Journals, Planting Schedules for Direct Seeding, and Planting Schedules for Starting Seeds Indoors and don’t forget our growing tips for cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.