Nothing beats homegrown salads....except maybe vine ripened tomatoes- but we will save that for another time 🍅
I love growing lush heads of lettuce- this is my method!
1. Fill trays with quality potting soil. We use Black Gold. I have found that lettuce does fine in 1 inch cells but you can also go bigger with 2 inch. A larger cell will give you more time to transplant before the nutrient in the soil runs out.
Tamp the soil down by hitting the tray against the table a couple of times to settle it and add more iff needed to try and make all the cells filled evenly. Your potting soil should be moist.
2. Sow 2-3 seeds per cell and water in gently using the mist or shower setting on your hose head. I plant more than one seed to ensure germination in each cell and then will often thin them to the strongest seedling or prick them out into other cells.
3. Lettuce seed needs light to germinate so the trick is to barley cover with soil or a thin layer of vermiculite or perlite. To cover with soil I shake it on to the tray through a screen or colander.
4. Seedlings need direct light from grow lights or sun right away or risk getting leggy- this means the stem grows very long and weak as it searches for light.
5. I let my lettuce seedlings grow for about 4-5 weeks and then transplant them to my prepared garden bed or a larger container garden.
6. Space your lettuce plants 8-12 inches apart in the garden. As they grow you can start to eat the outer leaves and your plant will continue to grow.
Variety selection is important! You will want to select varieties that will do well in your climate and season. We concentrate on heat tolerant varieties that are slow to bolt. These generally also do well in the winter but will last in your garden longer in the late spring and early summer.
Remember that lettuce is something you can keep seeding in succession all season long. Start some now and then again every 6 weeks for a continuous supply.
