How to Grow Fire Lettuce

Red Fire lettuce will add a touch of color to food.

New Red Fire lettuce withstands hot and cool growing conditions without wilting and growing bitter like cool-season lettuce varieties. Red Fire lettuce produces red, ruffled foliage and smaller, more compact loose-leaf heads. Red Fire lettuce adds a crisp texture and slightly sweet flavor to salads and wraps. Growers are partial to Red Fire lettuce due to its high resistance to common lettuce diseases and bolting. Prepare the soil prior to planting Red Fire lettuce to achieve optimal harvest results.

Things You'll Need

• 3-inch decomposable containers
• Perlite
• Clean sand
• Peat moss
• Small watering can
• Plastic dome or clear wrap
• Rotary tiller
• Aged manure
• Black plastic sheeting
• Garden spade

Instructions

1. Plant Red Fire lettuce seeds indoors six weeks prior to your area's last hard frost. Fill decomposable 3-inch containers with a mixture containing one-third perlite, one-third clean sand and one-third peat moss. Decomposable containers break down into the earth, eliminating the need to remove the fragile seedlings for transplant, which can cause root shock.

2. Dampen the seed mix with a small watering can and place one lettuce seed in the center of the container. Scoop a 1/4-inch layer of seed mix on top of the lettuce seeds and water to dampen. Cover all of the containers with a plastic dome or clear wrap.

3. Set the containers in front of a sunny west- or north-facing window to give the seeds indirect light. Sunlight coming into south- or east-facing windows will produce too much heat for the seeds to withstand. Continue to water the Red Fire lettuce seeds to maintain a slightly damp soil.

4. Prepare the lettuce beds two weeks before the expected last frost. Use a rotary tiller to work loose the soil 6 inches deep. Remove rocks and weeds from the lettuce bed. Add aged manure to the planting site at a depth of 4 inches. Work the area again with the tiller to mix the compost into the dirt.

5. Cover the planting area with black plastic sheeting so the soil can warm. The lack of sunlight also prevents any weeds from growing that compete for water and food with the young lettuce.

6. Remove the plastic and dig holes 12 inches apart in the planting area with a garden spade. The holes should be as big as the seedling containers.

7. Plant the lettuce seedlings into the holes without removing the containers, as they will degrade into the soil, allowing the roots of the Red Fire lettuce plants to pass through uninhibited.

8. Water the lettuce plants regularly throughout the growing season, keeping the soil moist.

Tips & Warnings

• Harvest the outermost leaves of the Red Fire lettuce plants when they reach at least 2 inches in height.

References

• Backyard Gardener: Lactuca Sativa (New Red Fire Lettuce)
• Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet; Growing Lettuce in the Home Garden; Marianne Riofrio