Lettuce Growing Tips

Lettuce is very easy to grow provided you follow a few basic guidelines.

Remember to water each day if it hasn’t rained.
Give them some fertiliser when they are seedlings and again a few weeks later.
If you are growing them in summer or live in a sub-tropical / tropical climate, they will do best with morning sun. The leaves will burn if exposed to harsh afternoon sun. Use shadecloth if need be.
Keep an eye out for pests. When you are watering, look for damage to leaves and hunt down the source. It will often be snails, grasshoppers or caterpillars and they won’t be far away.
If the weather is too hot the plants might ‘bolt’. Meaning they put all their energy into going to seed rather than leaf production. It might be better to avoid summer planting if you generally get very hot weather at this time in your area.

Planting and Harvesting your Lettuce

Lettuce seeds are tiny, so be careful when you are tipping them out of the packet.
If you are planting into a seedling punnet, (recommended), sprinkle a couple of seeds onto your seed raising mix in each compartment. The easiest way is to tip some seeds into the palm of your hand and pinch out a few at a time to sprinkle.
If you are planting directly into a growing bed (you will need to keep a sharp eye out for pests that may devour your seedlings as they emerge if you follow this method), sprinkle the seeds into a very shallow furrow – no more than 1 or 2 mm deep and sprinkle some soil over the top of them.
Gently water with a very fine spray. You don’t want to wash the seeds away.
Depending on the temperature of the soil – warm is good – your seeds will generally start to germinate within the first week. At this point sprinkle some general fertiliser into the punnets and water in. Remember to use a gentle, very fine spray right up until your seedlings are robust enough for stronger watering (which will generally be at least four or five weeks away).
When the seedlings are four or five weeks old, give them another sprinkling of fertiliser.
Depending on your climate and the variety you are growing you may be able to start harvesting from around six weeks. If you are growing leafy / non-heart forming lettuce remember that you do not need to rip the whole plant out to eat in one go. Just snap off the leaves you need and leave the plant to keep growing more leaves for you. This will give you a continuous supply over many weeks from the same plants.
Set yourself a certain day each week that you will set aside a couple of minutes to plant more seeds so you have a never ending supply of delicious, fresh homegrown lettuce.