Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Grow the seeds
• Method 2 of 3: Plant the lettuce
• Method 3 of 3: Harvest the lettuce
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

Do you like Romanesque lettuce, or are you more of an iceberg lettuce type? Whichever type you choose, lettuce is very easy to grow yourself. You grow the seeds indoors and plant them outdoors after the last frost. With a little luck, you can make a delicious salad from your home-grown lettuce at the beginning of the summer. Read on to learn how to plant lettuce.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Grow the seeds

1. Choose the lettuce variety you want to plant. Which kind do you like the most? Most strains require the same kind of care, so you can grow more than one strain at a time if you like a varied salad. Buy seeds from your favorite strains. Here are some popular types of lettuce:
   • Iceberg lettuce. This lettuce is delicious on a healthy sandwich or in a nice fresh salad.
   • Romanesque lettuce. The leaves of this lettuce are crunchy and rich in flavor.
   • Butter lettuce. The leaves are soft and green and contain a lot of nutrients.
   • Leaf lettuce. These are bright green, healthy lettuce varieties, which can often be found in a "spring mix". These types are slightly more resistant to heat than the other types.
2. Decide whether you want to sow indoors or outdoors. You can grow lettuce either way, but if you start indoors you can harvest several times a year. If you want fresh lettuce on the table all summer through fall, start sowing indoors and plant the lettuce outdoors later.
3. Prepare the seed trays. You can start in store-bought trays or you can make your own from old egg cartons. Fill the trays to 1-2 cm from the top edge with growing medium. Moisten the medium before adding the seeds.
   • Seeds themselves contain all the nutrients they need to germinate, so don't plant them in soil. You can make a growing medium from vermiculite, perlite and ground peat moss. Mix these in equal amounts.
   • Because you put the seeds in a different container after germination, you don't have to worry about what the containers look like.
4. Sow the seeds 4-6 weeks before the soil is warm enough outside. Then they will have time to germinate and grow until the soil is soft enough for them to be planted outside. Sprinkle the seeds evenly in the containers. Press them slightly into the growing medium with your fingers.
5. Give the seeds plenty of water and sunlight. Place the containers in front of a sunny window and always keep them moist. If you let them dry out, the seeds can no longer hatch.
   • You can cover the trays with some newspaper for the first week until they sprout. Keep the newspaper damp and remove it as soon as you see small green blades appear.
   • Do not overwater the seeds. If they drown, they can no longer grow.

Method 2 of 3: Plant the lettuce

1. Prepare the bed. The lettuce can be planted outside a week after the last frost. Choose a place with soil that has good drainage and where there is enough sun. Loosen the soil with a shovel or a cultivator and remove stones, branches and roots. One week before planting the seedlings, mix compost or fertilizer into the soil.
   • Lettuce is tough, but there are certain conditions that prevent it from growing properly. Make sure the soil is not too wet and that there is enough nitrogen present.
   • Make sure the soil is rich in humus. Ask the garden center for advice to find out what the soil in your area needs to grow lettuce properly.
2. Plant the seedlings. For Romanesque and iceberg lettuce, dig holes at a distance of 40 cm from each other; for leaf lettuce, make holes 20 cm apart. The holes should be just deep enough to contain the roots. Lift the seedlings out of the seed trays and place them in the holes. Press the soil down gently so that they stand upright. Water the seedlings sufficiently.
   • Use a watering can or hose with a nozzle that atomizes the water when you water the lettuce.
   • Be careful not to drown the seedlings; just make sure the soil is moist.
3. Plant more seeds. In another part of your garden you can now sow even more seeds, which will emerge later, so that you have a longer growing season. Sprinkle the seeds over the loosened soil and sprinkle 1 cm of soil over it.
   • It is best to sow leaf lettuce this way. These emerge later in the season and are more resistant to heat than iceberg and romaine lettuce, so they scorch less quickly when it gets hot in summer.
   • Water the seeds sufficiently after sowing.
4. Fertilize the lettuce 3 weeks after planting. Use alfalfa meal or nitrogen-rich fertilizer. The lettuce then grows quickly and becomes very strong.
5. Keep the lettuce moist. If the leaves look faded, you need to water the lettuce more. Spray the lettuce lightly with water every day, and always water when the leaves are drooping.

Method 3 of 3: Harvest the lettuce

1. Harvest the mature leaves. When the leaves look big enough to eat - it should look like supermarket lettuce - you can pluck them right off the plant. After a few weeks, when the lettuce is fully grown, you can cut off the entire head. If you leave it too long, it will eventually become unwell.
   • Harvest the leaves in the morning. At night, the leaves become extra crispy, which will stay that way if you harvest them early.
   • Lettuce can "overshoot" at the end of the season when it has been very hot. Then the seed starts to produce and the taste becomes bitter. You can prevent this by pulling out the core of the plant. If the lettuce still shoots, remove it.
2. Keep the lettuce in the refrigerator. If you don't eat the lettuce right away, you can keep it. Put the head in a plastic bag with some kitchen paper, then you can keep the lettuce good for ten days.

Tips

• Indicate where you planted the lettuce, including when you did.
• For an interesting variation, you can plant seeds of different types and colors of lettuce in the same row. Then you can already make a beautiful salad after 4 weeks.
• If you want to enjoy your lettuce continuously, you should plant a new row every week.
• Always walk around your vegetable bed, especially if it is a raised bed. Lettuce needs loose, airy soil. When you step on it, the earth compresses and the lettuce grows less well.
• Lettuce likes cool weather and grows better if you plant it early in the season. As soon as you can work the soil after the last frost, you can start planting lettuce. Lettuce that is fully grown in 60 days can still be planted 60 days before the first frost is expected. If it is too hot the lettuce shoots through, it will put all the energy into the seeds and the taste will become bitter. If you have a very warm balcony, choose varieties that can withstand heat.
• Buy pelleted lettuce seed, which is easier to plant.

Warnings

• Always wash your lettuce before eating it, especially if you have used chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Avoid using these types of products at all and hand weeding and removing insects or using natural compost and manure. The Earth will thank you, and so will your health.
• Do not get left behind with weeds, because you will soon have all kinds of unexpected plants in your salad.

Necessities

• Seeds
• Scoop
• Rake
• Growing medium
• Seed boxes
• Water
• Labels