Tips for Growing Lettuce In The Garden

There's nothing better than a salad made with fresh lettuce from the garden. Adding lettuce to your garden can be a welcome addition. Not only is healthy and tasty to eat but it needs very little space to grow. But there are some guidelines you should know before planting lettuce.

To grow lettuce or any other vegetable, you need to have good soil. For lettuce, keep the nitrogen level high by using 30-10-10 NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilizer. This will provide the lettuce with the nutrition it needs to produce healthy leaves.

When planting lettuce seeds make sure they are planted 1/8-3/8 inch deep, separated by 6-12 inches (2-3.5 m) from the next plant. Romaine lettuce can be planted closer together but other crisp lettuce need more space. If you plant in rows, keep the rows separated by about 20 inches (6m).

Keeping the soil moist but not soaked is good. Lettuce doesn't have very deep roots, so it needs to find moisture near the surface. Still, try to keep the water off the leaves and onto the soil, except for the occasional washing. Wet leaves encourages disease, especially when they're moist during nighttime temperatures.

Since their roots aren't very deep you'll also need to be diligent about weeding around lettuce plants. Many grasses and other plants can compete well because their roots go down to deeper soil. Infrequent but deep watering, letting the top layers dry out, will give most an advantage. But lettuce doesn't have that advantage, so you'll need to help them.

Like any other vegetable, lettuce plants have problems with diseases and pests. Many insects enjoy the lettuce leaves and the folds of the leaves also offer many places for fungi to grow.

Aphids, flea beetles, leafhoppers, slugs and cutworms are common insects that feast on lettuce. Washing the leaves with a high-pressure hose can temporally help get rid of the insects. Insecticide lightly applied to the lettuce will provide better long-term control.

One common fungal disease is anthracnose (Microdochium panattonianum). This fungus can stay alive in soil for many years. Bottom rot (Rhizoctonia solani) is another common fungus. This type of fungus usually occurs in soil that drains poorly. To combat these fungi, keep foliage dry and plant in good soil.

Another common problem with lettuce is bolting. Bolting is not a disease or pest but occurs when the plant goes to seed and the leaves stop growing. Bolting happens when the temperatures are consistently too high. To prevent this from happening, plant lettuce in shaded area or plant next to a shading crop such as corn.

Lettuce is a wonderful vegetable to have in your garden. With proper preparation and care, you can enjoy salads with fresh lettuce throughout the growing season.