How to Grow Lettuce

Lettuce is a great cool season vegetable to grow. It is easy to grow and can be raised without insecticides and other toxic chemicals. Nothing from the store tastes as good as fresh, home-grown lettuce. And with the price of vegetables these days, growing your own lettuce makes good sense for your budget, too. Plus, it's fun!

Instructions

1. 

   Lettuce is grown easily from seed. It doesn't germinate all that well when temperatures are cooler than 45'F or warmer than the mid 70's. Plant seeds -- not too thickly -- in rows directly outdoors when the soil starts to warm. Or you can start seeds in flats or pots and transplant them when they are an inch or two tall.

2. 

   You can also plant young plants from 6-packs.

3. 

   If you live where frosts are light, you can grow lettuce as a winter crop. In other parts of the country you can grow them during the regular growing season.

4. 

   Grow lettuce in full sun, rich soil with a lot of humus and compost, and plenty of water. Nitrogen helps leaves grow strong and green, so you can use a light nitrogen-rich fertilizer every couple of weeks. Fish emulsion is an organic feed that will work well.

5. 

   Lettuce varieties come in greens, reds and spots of color or stripes, elongated cos or romaine varieties, tight heads and loose-leaf varieties with different shaped leaves. All have slightly different flavors and textures. You might want to grow a whole mixture for salads.

6. 

   Crop lettuce as soon as it forms a nice firm head, or, if growing loose-leaf varieties, pick off outside leaves as soon as they are big enough to use.

7. In certain parts of the country lettuce will be eaten by deer, snails, rabbits and other creatures. Planting it in a raised vegetable garden or surrounded by fencing can help. I recommend using one of the 'safe' snail baits where snails are a problem.

8. 

   Lettuce is not fattening, provides roughage, is refreshing and tastes good. It is used as a bed to serve other foods and is the foundation for endless salad recipes. Growing lettuce can be a tasty, nourishing and fun project for the whole family.

Resources

• Gates & Croft Horticultural Design Ideas & Info