Lettuce Vegetable Gardening Tips – How to Grow Lettuce

If you're looking for a healthy vegetable with many uses, plant some lettuce. In addition to this, it won't take up nearly as much space as some other vegetables, such as pumpkins.

Just like any other vegetable, good soil is the key to growing great lettuce. A 30-10-10 NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) fertilizer will help keep the nitrogen level high to provide the leaves with the nutrients that they need.

Seeds should be planted around 6-12 inches (2-3.5 m) apart at a depth of 1/8-3/8 of an inch. The lower end of the spacing range is fine for romaine lettuce, but more space is required for crisp lettuce. If you prefer to plant in rows, they should be around 20 inches (6m) apart. Lettuce seeds are not very cold tolerant, so avoid planting them too early in the spring.

Make sure the soil is moist without over doing it. The roots will need to find their moisture near the surface since they don't go very deep. Do not allow water to lay on the leaves, except for the occasional washing. Wet leaves combined with cool evening temperatures may cause disease and harmful fungi.

Weed control is especially important around lettuce due to their shallow root systems. Some grasses and other plants have roots that go deeper, enabling them to compete with the roots of weeds. Occasional deep watering will work for these plants, but not for lettuce. You'll need to get rid of weeds immediately to give them the best chance.

Lettuce is prone to certain diseases and pests, just like many other plants. The layers of large leaves makes them especially attractive to a wide variety of of fungi and insects.

Lettuce is a favorite of aphids, flea beetles, leafhoppers, and especially slugs. Cutworms are a common problem as well. Early morning hose washing will help alleviate the problem as long as the leaves have time to dry before evening. For lasting protection, use a small amount of a quality insecticide.

A fungal disease common to garden plants is Anthracnose (Microdochium panattonianum). This fungus could be present, even in your new garden, since it can live in soil for many years. Another type of fungus is bottom rot (Rhizoctonia solani). Poorly draining soil is a common place to find this one. Properly preparing the soil, as well as keeping the leaves dry, will help take care of this problem.

Another issue with lettuce that isn't caused by diseases or pests is called bolting. They can, however, make it worse. Bolting is when the leaves stop growing after the plant goes to seed. This problem usually is a result of the lettuce enduring higher temperatures than it prefers. Making sure your plants have enough shade should help prevent this. If you can't plant in a naturally shady spot, you could consider planting some shade plants, such as corn, over it.

If you follow these simple steps, you can harvest plenty of lettuce throughout the season.