Lettuce is pretty much the easiest thing to grow on the planet. It has pretty high yields and, unlike other veggies, can make up the bulk of an entire meal.
Because, I know, deep down you can’t get enough veggie trivia {it’s probably so deep down you’ve never even considered the term “veggie trivia”} I thought I would throw this awesome little nugget out: The term salad comes from the latin world salata, which literally means salted things.
Salads originally consisted of veggies that were salted, and drizzled with oil and vinegar. Salads date back to ancient Rome and Greece {probably because they were so easy to grow} and have been a staple in nearly every culture since.
Nowadays, salads are pretty much synonymous with dieting, and occasionally get the bad rap of being rabbit food, instead of the awesome goodness that it is. Still, dieter or not, it must be popular because the average person consumes about 17 lbs. of iceberg lettuce alone each year in the U.S. I don’t know if you have ever weighed lettuce, so let me tell you, 17 lbs is A LOT of lettuce…and not even the tastiest variety at that.
How to Grow Lettuce:
Like I said, lettuce is crazy easy to grow. You can sow it directly outside 2-4 weeks BEFORE the average last frost. Then, you can continue to sow it every 3-4 weeks for a successive crop. If you live in a mild-wintered climate, you can grow it all year {it will just grow a little slower}. Sow seeds every 1/2″, about 1/8″ deep–or according to seed packet.
seeds by lightly sprinkling with water–lettuce seeds are so small, they will drift out of their rows if you introduce too much water. Thin to 1 plant every 6″ when seedlings are about 1/2″ tall.
When is Lettuce Ready to Harvest?
Lettuce can be harvested as a “head” or you can snap off leaves as needed. If you decide to harvest an entire head of lettuce, cut the head off at the base, being careful to leave the base–it will give you a second crop of lettuce that way.
Each variety matures at a slightly different rate, and has different flavors at every point of maturity, so make sure to sample them all.
Which Lettuce Varieties to grow?
This year, I am growing these kinds of lettuce:
My Favorite Recipe with Lettuce:
Roasted Chicken Salad with Cranberries
If you live in the Pacific Northwest Region and are unsure what seeds you should be starting right now, or when your transplants should be set out in the garden, this regional planting guide should help you out.
Don’t live in the Pacific Northwest? Find your regional planting guide HERE.
Bridget P. says
Hi Mavis 🙂 I have a question for you. Last year I built raised beds as the soil here in eastern Washington is pretty rocky and just a pain in the butt! I used soil from the nursery for the beds and tried growing lettuce and spinach but they got eaten alive by what looked like a ton of potato bugs and earwigs. I tried some homemade pesticide for them but it did not work. What would you recommend for this year?
Emily says
Lettuce is my favorite crop! I can easily grow more than enough for the two of us on our balcony and it’s so pretty while it’s growing. I mixed baby butter heads with petunias in my window boxes last summer. So cute! I’m excited to find out I can plant before the last frost. Any jump on the garden season is a help with our short growing season.
Kori F says
I live in the Pacific Northwest and have given up on lettuce, I got tired of growing it for the slugs to eat. No matter what I did they got around it and would up the whole palnt in one night! Slugs are jerks.
Linda says
How and at what point do you get the seeds from the lettuce for your next crop?