Check out this video to learn how to plant lettuce. Harvest lettuces by cutting rather than pulling. You could plant lettuce next to your tomato plants or in the same row as your corn to give the necessary shade. How long it took you to grow the lettuce from seed to harvest under your conditions. It doesn't even matter if the soil were to freeze. After sowing the seeds, water them thoroughly. A Lettuce Farm. Plant indoor lettuce seeds 4-6 weeks before your last frost. Loose-leaf Lettuce. Warm Areas: All Year Round! What You’ll Need: Garden spade or shovel; Garden soil, compost, or worm castings; Lettuce seed; Garden hose; Lettuce seeds are small, it is far easier to sprinkle the seeds rather than plant one at a time. Fill the seed trays to within 1 ⁄ 2 inch (1.3 cm) of the top with a soilless growing medium. Let us all learn how to grow lettuce! Pick from varieties such as the Iceberg, Cos Lettuce or even Red and Green varieties, there are plenty to choose from to suit your needs. protect from slugs and snails. How to Grow Lettuce Using Hydroponics. Lettuce- How to grow from seed. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a cool season vegetable. Growing lettuce from seed in late summer may require generous artificial shade to help cool the soil for germination. Lettuce seeds can be sown straight into the garden (or pots) or you can start them off in trays or punnets first. The seeds can be spread over sections or in rows. Growing lettuce is easy. Sow seed on moist, well-prepared soil or compost in spring. For fans of the textured and colorful lettuce, you’ll most definitely want to grow your lettuce from seeds so that you have plenty of options. Start lettuce indoors 4 weeks before transplanting; sow or transplant lettuce into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked. How to grow lettuce from seed. Lettuce seeds love good moisture levels in the soil, but damp soil can kill your seeds. When to grow lettuce: Start early indoors or seed directly outdoors from late March to August. Prepare seed trays. Getting lettuce cuttings is easy enough, since you can get the cuttings from any lettuce you purchase from local grocery stores or farmers markets. Seed Info In optimal growing conditions at least 70% of seeds will germinate. From trays or modules harden off and plant out under fleece. Growing tips. Everyone will have a bit different results depending on the amount of light, warmth, and attention you gave the lettuce plants. When it’s too hot, lettuce bolts (goes to seed), becomes bitter, or dries up and dies. If the seeds are new, one seed in each hole is enough, but if seeds are old, 2 to 3 seeds can do the trick. Lettuce is a cool-season crop, so in hot climates you may get better results growing it in a cooler, shadier spot, especially as the young plants start out. Lettuce Seeds. Remedy: Unless growing for seed sow bolt-resistant varieties. Again, seedlings of suitable age (one-month-old) have to be sown in the seedbed and then planted in the mainland. Transplanting: Seedlings started indoors can be planted outside after danger of severe frost has passed. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) can be grown in nearly all climate zones, but as a cool-season vegetable it does best when growing in the spring and fall—or even winter in southern climates.During hot weather, the plants bolt (send up flower shoots to produce seeds), and at … Harvesting. Trim Down. If you want an earlier crop, lettuce can be started indoors four to six weeks before the last frost. Planting Seed. If you’re more of a soil fan than hydroponics, then growing them old school fits you. More info on Bolting . You can grow lettuce in these ways. If you’d like to grow your lettuce inside your home, check out these tips for growing lettuce indoors. Usual seed life: 3 years. Lettuce is ready to cut when a firm heart has formed, or the for loose-leaf varieties when leaves are big enough to be worth eating. This means that growing lettuce can be done in early spring when temperatures are between 45 and 65 F. (7-18 C.). They also like to be kept moist, so water them well, especially on warm days. The lettuce seeds actually do just fine in cold soil. Diseases & Pests Crop rotation is also important for disease prevention. Varieties. Available as seedlings, but also germinates readily from seed. In some regions, it’s possible to plant a second crop of lettuce in the fall or even early winter. surefire tips, growing lettuce from seed is easy and fun. Lettuce grows best in loose, cool soil with good drainage. You can pick loose-leaf lettuce varieties from six weeks, at 10 weeks for hearting types. A packet of lettuce seeds is generally less than $2.30 and contains hundreds of seeds. It is best to plant head lettuce in the fall as, by avoiding the warmer weather, you can produce sweeter lettuce. In this case, the distance from the line to line should be 12 inches and the distance from seedling to seedling should be 8 inches. Lettuce Seeds Germination How to Grow Lettuce from seed. How to Plant Into Trays. from the base. You can start your lettuce seeds in store-bought seed trays or make your own out of an old egg carton, box or newspaper. Before you go to the effort of saving your lettuce seeds, first, make sure to save seeds only from open-pollinated or heirloom varieties. Growing Lettuce Indoors In Containers. If growing from seed, plant no more than 10 seeds per foot of growing space. Lettuce is a must-have for the vegetable garden. Use a moist stick to pick up individual seeds if needed. I prefer to plant them in seeding trays and then transplanting them into the containers. All you need to do is cut the leaves an inch from the bottom and keep the remaining stem. You can sprinkle your seeds in organized rows or you can sprinkle them all over the bed. Lettuce grows best in full sun, though excessive heat can cause plants to bolt to seed, or leaves to wilt. When planting, make sure each seed is planted 1/2 inch deep in the soil. Lettuce has long been a staple salad ingredient throughout Australia and is very easy to grow from seed. How to sow lettuce seed. Keep the seeds moist while they germinate and start to grow. Fill the trays with compost, water it lightly and then place the seeds on top. Next, make a shallow divot using the handle of a garden tool. You should also know that lettuce is one of the first vegetables that germinate in spring. One of the most commonly grown hydroponic crops, lettuce (Lactuca sativa) matures in a little more than a month. There are amazing varieties that are red, green, speckled or frilly, just the thing to make a spectacular salad to impress your friends and family. How to Regrow Lettuce 1. Lettuce grows best when it’s cool, but the leaves quickly dissolve when exposed to freezing temperatures. Aim for 10-20 seeds per foot. For an early start, seeds can be started in flats 4 weeks prior to the last frost and transplanted outdoors in mid to late spring. Lettuce seeds are teeny tiny, and it is easiest to spread them over an area and then thin them out once they sprout—plant in full sun when the temperature is cooler. Cover with 1/8 inch light soil. Lettuce grows quickly, so stagger the plantings.It is recommended to sow the lettuce seeds directly into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked. Now sow the seeds of lettuce in each hole of the seed tray. Cover with a very thin layer of compost or vermiculite. Temperate Areas: All Year Round! Lettuce is grown from seeds or transplants. However, growing in the garden makes seeds more vulnerable, so Damien suggests putting 2-4 seeds in each hole, to increase your rate of success. Thin seedlings out when they’re big enough to handle and keep the compost moist. This way I have more control over how the lettuce grows. Depth and Spacing. Either way, lettuces don’t take long to reach maturity, which makes them an excellent choice for growing in … Summer– Make sure that you find lettuce that is resistant to bolting. Before planting the seedlings, ensure the soil is well prepared to meet lettuce’s demands, as discussed earlier in this article. How to grow lettuce. Planting Schedule. You can also use small garden pots. You can grow lettuce from seed as well but this is a super easy method for those just looking for a few leaves here and there without any hassle! Open-pollinated varieties are more genetically diverse, allowing them to better adapt to specific growing conditions. Growing Lettuce In The Garden – How To Grow Lettuce. The mild, cooler weather of spring and fall are perfect for growing cole crops (like lettuce). Open-pollinated and heirloom plants both grow true to seed for years to come. Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep in single rows. The lettuce seeds actually only need a few degrees above freezing in order to germinate and cold soil is actually a plus. Thinning lettuce seedlings. The seeds will survive! The seeds can be planted in trays filled with compost, two to three seeds in each cell is enough. I have been growing lettuce from seed in my raised beds and containers for years; you can even plant it amongst your flower beds for added visual interest as well. Seed germinates in 2 to 10 days at or near 70°F (21°C)—but sometimes seed can take up to 2 weeks to germinate if the soil is cold. Planting Lettuce Seeds. You can plant lettuce seeds directly into your containers or pots or put them into seed trays. It adds bulk and texture to salads and salad sandwiches, and there are many types to choose from to suit your needs. This would be great if you still got some seed starting soil mix left over from the last growing season. To Grow Lettuce from seed There are two ways to do this. The land should be well prepared for cultivation. First, weed the bed and clear it of any rocks. Either: By direct sowing in your garden/containers, or; Start the seeds indoors, then transplant the seedlings to your garden. You can start some lettuce in seed trays or plant in a container that is tucked away from the cold weather to ensure they germinate. Sow or plant at the correct time and keep the soil or compost moist. Add fresh compost into the trays and water well. Once days become cooler, the shade can be removed to give plenty of sunlight to young lettuce plants. Seed is viable for 5 years. Either way works. These are the easiest foods to grow at home. For those of you that prefer more traditional types of lettuce like iceberg or romaine, then you’ll still probably want to grow lettuce from seeds just because of the price factor. Recipes. Whether sowing seeds indoors or out, using a nutrient-rich, loose soil and choose a container/space with good drainage. Seeds can be sown directly in these lands. With a large variety of types and therefore flavours, lettuce isn’t just reduced to your Cos or iceberg! Lettuce-growing seasons are a bit tricky. Per 100′ row: 240 seeds head lettuce/1.2M seeds leaf type, per acre: 58M seeds head lettuce/348M leaf type. Lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow and growing lettuce from seed is so economical. Lettuce does not like long, hot, sunny & humid days. Grab a head of romaine or other lettuce, and cut it crosswise about 1-2 in. Find tips for planting a second crop of lettuce here. Sprinkle in some seed at any time of year and this quick growing vegetable will be ready in weeks. 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