A wonderful variant toLettuceis the leaf lettuce. Recently, this type of lettuce has even surpassed lettuce in popularity. The leaf lettuce is not only ideal for preparing fresh salads. It can also be used in sandwiches and as a garnish for main courses. Since it sells quite expensively in the market in some seasons, it would be a great idea to have it in your own gardenPlant lettuceto always ensure a fresh ingredient for a healthy diet.
Plant lettuce to prepare healthy salads
When you plant leaf lettuce, you can choose the vegetable patch in your garden for it as wellflower potsand boxes. You also don't have to worry about the space you need because you don't need to leave any space between the individual plants. Let them grow wild if you like. To ensure variety and a mix of colors, you can even plant several varieties of leaf lettuce.
Planting leaf lettuce – types and special care requirements?
The leaf lettuce can be sown at the beginning of spring. In regions with milder winters, the period between autumn and winter is also suitable. Radicchio is an exception. This is best sown in mid or late summer. Choose a location in the sun or one that provides partial shade. With regard to the method of sowing when planting leaf lettuce, there is a difference for each individualLeaf lettuce-Various different things to consider:
Plant the arugula as a leaf salad
Arugula has a spicy taste and is therefore very popular as an ingredient in sandwiches. A mix is often sold for the seeds that includes other types of leaf lettuce or lettuce. The rocket is harvested at a young age. Otherwise it could reach a height of up to one meter. If you want to plant lettuce in your garden, arugula should definitely not be missing.
You should sow the seeds a little over a centimeter deep into the soil. When planting leaf lettuce of this variety, maintain a distance of 5 cm. Another option is to simply scatter the seeds evenly over the bed. Now is also the right time to fertilize. The seedlings are then thinned out, leaving a distance of 15 cm. To do this, however, wait until you have at least four sheets. You can also prepare salads from the excess sprouts. During growth, arugula requires moist soil that is free of weeds. Arugula propagates automatically. Another advantage is that pests and diseases are very rare.
The rocket is best harvested 25 to 40 days after the lettuce is planted. If you wait too long, the leaves will have a bitter taste. If you simply remove the leaves to use them for consumption, they can grow back and another harvest is guaranteed. If this is undesirable, you can easily remove the whole plant.
Plant the chicory as a leaf salad
There are many different varieties here. Leaf chicory is particularly widespread and popular. This is available with green and red leaf colors. If you want to plant this leaf lettuce, all you need to do is follow the leaf lettuce requirements in general.
For leafy chicory, a depth of only 6 mm is necessary for the seeds or you can scatter them over the bed like the rocket. With the first variant, you leave a distance of 5 cm, which you expand to 15 to 20 cm when thinning out. If you are scattering the seeds, next apply a thin layer of soil. In order to germinate the seeds, constantly moist soil is necessary. After that, you should continue to water regularly. Because weeds can hinder growth, you should always remove them. Pests that occur with leafy chicory include snails, aphids, cabbage caterpillars, leafhoppers and others. When it comes to diseases, pay attention to downy mildew.
After taking such good care of planting lettuce, you will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest. To do this, simply gradually cut off the leaves from the outside inwards or harvest the whole plant straight away.
Planting leaf lettuce – the endive
In principle, endive is also a type of chicory. There are different varieties that you can choose between. Whichever you choose, you are guaranteed not to regret planting this lettuce.
You plant this leaf lettuce like chicory. The seedlings are then thinned out and left at a distance of 15 to 30 cm. The endive can thrive well into the warm season. However, the leaves then become bitter. What is interesting is that the endive is bleached for two to three weeks. To do this, simply tie the outer leaves around the center piece. During this time you should make sure that the leaves do not get wet.
With endive, you can also only harvest the outer leaves to ensure a long-lasting harvest, or you can harvest the entire plant. That depends entirely on your needs.
Plant Sarepta mustard as a leaf salad
As you can probably guess from the name, this type of leaf lettuce is particularly spicy. If you would like to plant this leaf lettuce, you can choose from the numerous subspecies between different heights, colors and leaf shapes. So there are low-growing and high-growing ones, with light green to red and even dark red leaves that can be small and wrinkled or wide and smooth.
When looking for the right place to plant Sarepta mustard, make sure that no lettuce has grown there before. Otherwise, the soil for planting lettuce should be nutrient-rich and guarantee good water drainage. After sowing the seeds 1/4 inch deep and 1 to 2 inches apart, keep the soil moist. Thinning only takes place when the young plants are 10 to 12 cm tall. Ultimately the distance should be 10 to 15 cm. You can also eat the seedlings of this leaf salad. Pull weeds regularly and keep the soil moist.
Planting lettuce - You can harvest the leaves of the mustard plants leaving the stems or you can harvest the outer leaves when they reach a height of 15 to 20 cm. Of course, you can also harvest the entire plant with this type of leaf lettuce.
Radicchio – plant leaf lettuce
A special feature of this lettuce is the dark red color that the head gets. If you plant this leaf lettuce, you will get a wonderful change of color in your garden. And a fresh ingredient for salads is also guaranteed.
You should plant radicchio as a leaf salad in mid or late summer. Then keep a distance of 20 to 30 cm when thinning. Over time the head of lettuce will form. This is also the sign that the lettuce is ripe.
If the head does not form, simply harvest the outer leaves and let the lettuce continue to grow until it forms. When harvesting the entire plant and in regions with mild climates, you can cut it at a height of between 2.5 and 5 cm. This gives the radicchio the opportunity to grow back.
The radicchio leaf salad in an elongated shape
