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How to Grow Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, as well as one of the most abundant if grown correctly. This guide will teach you the bare-bones on how to grow lettuce, spring’s most effortless crop.
![how to grow lettuce heads](https://therealgardener.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/lettuce-FEATURED.png)
How to Grow Lettuce
You will learn the essentials of growing lettuce, one of the easiest and most abundant vegetables to cultivate. This guide will cover the basic steps required to grow lettuce successfully, with a focus on the spring season.
You will gain knowledge on selecting the right lettuce varieties, preparing the soil, planting and spacing the seeds or seedlings, providing proper water and sunlight, and caring for the plants throughout the growing process.
History
Wild lettuce originated in the Mediterranean, which is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Lettuce was first cultivated by the Egyptians, around 4000 years ago, for production of oil from its seeds, and as an aphrodisiac.
Whether the plant worked as a stimulant or not, it became very popular among the Romans as a vegetable, as the bitterness of the wild variety was bred out with new cultivars. The milky sap exuded by the plant when broken was thought to have the same effect as milk does, that is, relaxing the person who drank it (or ate it). So, lettuce was often eaten at the end of a large meal to relax before bed.
![Wild Lettuce (Lactuca Virosa) wild lettuce](https://therealgardener.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/lettuce-HISTORY-1024x678.png)
Sowing Seeds
Lettuce does well direct-sown or started indoors. If you are starting your lettuce indoors, start them 3 – 4 weeks before you want them to go outside. Stagger the sowing to do a few plants every week. This will ensure that even if a crop bolts, you will always have backup lettuce to be harvested.
Always harden off your seedlings before transplanting them. If you are direct-sowing, space your plants about 6 inches apart if you want to harvest them fully grown.
If you want to harvest lettuce at a younger stage, space them about 3 – 4 inches apart. You can also do a mesclun mix, in which a mix of different greens and even herbs are scattered on the surface of the soil and lightly covered. You can harvest your mesclun after about a month of growth, and continue to harvest when it regrows.
Light Requirements
Lettuce is a spring vegetable, and benefits from full sun in the spring and fall. In the summer, give your plants about 4 hours of direct sunlight to prevent them from going bitter and bolting. Most leafy crops prefer some shade in the summertime heat.
Fertilizer
If you are harvesting lettuce for the whole head, you don’t need much fertilizer, other than well-rotted compost or manure worked into the soil before planting. If you are harvesting as cut-and-come-again lettuce (different harvesting styles are discussed further down), you should fertilize your plants with a higher nitrogen organic fertilizer every month.
Watering
Keep your lettuce plants moist! Letting them dry out will increase the chance of them going bitter and bolting. Mulching will also help to retain moisture and reflect heat during the summer months.
![Arugula, a Common Companion for Lettuce six arugula plants in a two by three seedling cell tray](https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/4ddc918e-00a1-427e-85a9-db2619c2cd20/PXL_20230418_110616581.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1280)
Companion Planting
Lettuce does great with many other vegetables like beans, onions, garlic, and other leafy greens. Other leafy greens have relatively the same care requirements as lettuce, beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and onions and garlic help to repel some common lettuce pests like aphids.
If you decide to interplant with beans, you will have to wait until the beans are fully dead and decomposed for the nitrogen to be bioavailable to the lettuce.
With that being said, lettuce will do well planted with basically anything, as it can tolerate different temperatures and different light levels.
Varieties
Lettuce varieties are split into 4 main groups: Romaine, crisphead, butterhead, and looseleaf. The first 3 are typically harvested as head lettuce and the last one is harvested in a cut-and-come-again style.
Two popular romaine varieties are Paris island cos and little gem. Little gem lettuce is harvested as a 6 inch tall, palm-sized, personal head.
A popular crisphead variety is iceberg, which is one of the most popular lettuces but has little to no nutritional value. But, it is a crisp variety.
A popular butterhead is Boston, which is harvested for its loose, tender heads.
And a fantastic looseleaf variety is called slo-bolt. As the name suggests, the variety is very “slow” to bolt in the heat of the summer.
Harvesting
![how to grow and harvest lettuce](https://therealgardener.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/lettuce-HARVESTING-1024x678.png)
Head Lettuce – As the name suggests, you want to harvest the whole mature head of these varieties, about 2 – 3 months after planting. You can cut the plant right at the base. In rare cases, you will get another head, but you will most probably kill your plant.
Cut-and-Come-Again – This style of harvesting is usually used for looseleaf varieties, of which you harvest only the mature outer leaves of the plant, leaving the rest to continue growing.
The first harvest will be around a month after planting, but you can continue to harvest 5, 6, 7, or 8 times per plant! The harvest only stops when the plant runs to seed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most varieties will be ready to harvest within 30-60 days of sowing. But it depends on the variety that you are growing. Generally, romaine varieties take more time to mature than looseleaf varieties.
While lettuce grows optimally in full sun, it can tolerate sum shade, especially when it is very hot outside. Generally, give your lettuce full sun in the spring, fall, and winter, and give them part shade in the summer.
Lettuce is ideal for container gardening, as they mature to only a very small size. They will grow in almost any container, even grow bags.
You can definitely grow lettuce in the summer. However, I would choose varieties that are more heat-resistant.
Products:
For organic, non-GMO garden seeds, check out SeedsNow.
For gardening equipment, check out Bootstrap Farmer.
For organic all-purpose fertilizers, check out Arber.
Conclusion
Growing lettuce is a simple and rewarding activity for any gardener. As mentioned in this guide, it requires minimal effort, and the results are plentiful. Whether you prefer to grow your lettuce hydroponically, in a container, or in a garden bed, the key is to offer your plants the right amount of water, sunlight, and nutrients.
The variety of lettuce you select will also play an important role in the taste and texture of your greens. Overall, growing your own lettuce is a great way to experience the joy and satisfaction of being self-sufficient while having access to fresh and nutritious food. Give it a try and see the difference for yourself!
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