It's not just beginners who should try making salads in the vegetable garden. Apart from the fact that salads are simply delicious and healthy, they are also easy to plant, care for and harvest. So everyone is guaranteed to enjoy gardening! In today's article, we have put together some helpful tips that will help you grow lettuce without any hassle. There are also some of the most popular varieties and what requirements they have in terms of location, irrigation and fertilizer. So if you're still planning your vegetable garden, definitely consider salads!
When should I start growing lettuce?
Two families can be distinguished. On the one hand there are the lettuce varieties and on the other hand there are the endive varieties. Depending on which of these families the respective lettuce belongs to, the time of first sowing also depends. While lettuces can be sown outdoors as early as March, you have to wait until mid-June at the earliest if you want to grow lettuce.
Plant the last lettuce
The last possible sowing time is also different for both types of lettuce. The lettuce should be planted again in September at the latest so that it can be harvested in October. Since endive grows more slowly than lettuce, you only need to sow it once a year. Depending on when you planted the endives, you can expect a harvest until December. These are all things you should consider if you want to grow lettuce.
The best location
If you want to guarantee the best location for your lettuces, choose a sunny place or one in partial shade when growing the lettuce. The soil should be quite clayey in order to store enough moisture. But lettuces can also be grown in boxes. In this case, you can purchase a special mixture. Raised beds are particularly pleasant for gardening.
Sow correctly
You have the choice between a wide variety of varieties. These are divided into spring, summer and autumn salads. This means you can put together varieties from different categories and guarantee that you can harvest fresh salads all year round. You can sow the lettuce directly in the garden. Alternatively, you can also plant plants in the ground.
Salatplant
The second variant is undoubtedly easier. It eliminates the need to divide the plants later and allows you to harvest more quickly. Also, do not plant the plants too deep in the soil. It is enough for the lettuce plant if you press a third of the ball of earth into the ground. This has the advantage that the lettuce is higher and the lowest leaves are not on the ground, which usually leads to them rotting.
Crowdcorrectassess
So that there is always lettuce available to harvest and at the same time there are not too many ripe lettuces that could spoil, it is recommended to plant the plants depending on consumption and therefore at certain intervals. A few plants every few weeks are therefore completely sufficient.
The bed is fullexploit
You probably know that a certain distance must be maintained between the individual plants. You can still use this for other things. Spice plants and herbs, for example, do not require much space. This means you can not only grow lettuce, but also use the edge of the bed and the space between the lettuce plants for parsley, chives, basil or even shallots.
The soil should always be sufficiently moist. That's why clay is also beneficial in the soil because it stores water. Otherwise there is not much to consider when it comes to care. Since lettuces do not draw many nutrients from the soil, frequent fertilization is also unnecessary. Use compost in combination with nitrogen and potash fertilizers or buy special fertilizer for salads.
Pestsprevent
For most types of lettuce, the only way to avoid pests is to use chemical agents. Bugs are not uncommon in salads. However, there are lettuces that are resistant to powdery mildew or aphids and that you can choose over others. The so-called vegetable fleece also provides good protection against pest infestation.
TheChopped lettuce
If you want to grow a variety that you can harvest particularly quickly, then cut lettuce is the perfect choice. The young plants, which are ripe after just six weeks, can be harvested. This is why chopped salad is so popular. It's a great strain to ring in the new season with. It can be planted both in a bed and in a pot.
Chopped lettuceharvest correctly
You can harvest the cut lettuce as soon as it reaches a height of approx. 15 cm. To do this, simply cut the plant, but not too deeply. Leave the “stump” in the ground because then the plant can sprout new leaves again. This is an advantage if you grow lettuce. In addition, thanks to the constant sprouting, you don't need many plants in the garden.
Endivien-Salat
Endive salad with its bitter taste guarantees a long harvest time, something that it has over lettuce. We have already mentioned when you should grow this. This should happen by mid-July at the latest. The earlier, the better the lettuce heads will grow. If you sow later, there is a risk that they will no longer be able to ripen.
Lamb's lettuce
Lamb's lettuce is actually neither an endive nor a salad. It is a valerian plant that can be eaten like salad and is very popular because of its delicate and fresh to nutty taste. You also have to wait until summer for this variety.
Lamb's lettucesow
You can start sowing from the end of July. However, finish this around mid-August so that you can still harvest until autumn. Otherwise, you will have to wait until spring. The lettuce grows quite low and is best planted in rows. Then harvesting is easier. When growing this lettuce, combine with previous varieties to harvest salads before fall.
Pick lettuce
You can also grow lettuce in flower boxes or containers. To harvest, you have to wait for the leaves that the trunk forms. However, the outer leaves are always harvested and the smaller inner leaves are allowed to continue to grow. The lettuce is partly reddish in color.
The lettuceplant
There is a great diversity of species in the lettuce family. The ice cream salad and the batavia salad are included. It has the typical taste of salad and is quite tender to the bite. If you want to grow this lettuce, you can start as early as March, as already mentioned. If you have a cold frame, you can even start sowing in February.
Bataviasalat
Depending on the variety, Batavia lettuce can taste spicy to sweet. The rule here is that varieties with large leaves have a spicy taste, while varieties with small leaves are mild to sweet. This lettuce, which is a cross between ice cream lettuce and lettuce, also sprouts again and again if the heart is not cut off. So you can also grow this lettuce for a continuous harvest.
