Planting Lettuce, Tips for Growing Lettuce, How to Grow Lettuce

When you begin planting lettuce in your garden, you may be surprised in the difference from supermarket produce supplied by growers who are more concerned with quantity rather than quality. A home vegetable gardener is interested most in growing vegetables that tastes good.

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New plantings are always exciting as the springtime garden beds liven up. As you feel the anticipation in the air this spring, try your hand at growing a few gourmet lettuce varieties.

Planting Mixed Variety Lettuce Seeds

A good idea for planting lettuce is using a fast growing blend of different bitter free leaf types selected for your family's flavor preference. These gourmet salad blends are great for cutting early for mixed salads or left in the ground until fully matured.

How to Grow Lettuce

Prolonged periods of inclement weather are a constant concern for vegetable gardeners planting lettuce as excess rain can cause the leaves to rot inward. Since the home gardener needs only one or two heads of lettuce at a time, the best planting method is to plant a succession of very short rows. When a row or two are left in the ground, the tenderness of the leaves varieties such as Bibb or Butterhead are known for will suffer.

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Some Popular Lettuce Varieties for Home Gardens

Lettuce is a cool weather crop and as the season grows warm, the crops prefer a bit of shade.

Buttercrunch can stand more heat and rain than many other kinds.

Intercrop matures early like radishes and lettuce among cabbage and corn. They will be finished before the later maturing plants need the vegetable gardening space.

It is hard to beat well-grown standard loose-leaf lettuce varieties such as Prizehead, Oakleaf, and Salad Bowl.

One benefit of planting mixed variety lettuce seeds, is that it ensures bolting is not a problem in your vegetable garden.

For a visual treat, the frost hardy Salad Trim grows in an appealing deep purple color for adding color to salads. Cos lettuces (romaine) are even crispier than standard heading lettuce.

There are winter hardy lettuce varieties that grow well in warmer climates.

Romaine holds up notably better than other types if subjected to days of frost.

The shorter days and dimmer sun of winter does not affect lettuce as much as other growing vegetables.

In fact, lettuce leaves are more tender if sheltered from the sun.

Lettuce is one of the few garden vegetables that can be successfully grown in a shady location.

Vegetable Gardening Tips for Growing Lettuce

* Although some plants tolerate a wide variety of soil and air temperatures, all have a preference. Therefore, follow directions on individual lettuce seed packets for best results.

* For direct seeding into the garden, lettuce can be planted 4-6 weeks before the last frost free date.

* Plant successive plantings of lettuce to ensure the freshest tenderness for an extended time.

* Plan spacing of rows according to growth habits as lettuce take little space to grow.

* Planting lettuce encourages children and adults to eat healthy garden fresh salads.

Pouring dressings over crisp lettuce leaves in your salads turns them limp and disguises the flavors of the combined greens. Instead, place a few tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of white-wine vinegar, a clove of garlic, and freshly chopped tarragon, thyme, or sweet marjoram in the bottom of your wooden salad bowl before mixing the salad.

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Planting Lettuce to Vegetable Gardening

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