Growing lettuce

It's an exciting time of year for planning and sowing your summer crops. Lettuce is really easy to grow and can be sown anytime from spring to summer.

Apart from the usual traditional lettuces such as iceberg, cos and butterhead, there are many other varieties to try including rocket, loose-leaf types and oak leaf lettuce.

  • Try to choose a bright or partly shaded area and dig the soil over well removing any stones and then mix in a good garden compost to feed the soil then rake finely.
  • Most seeds come in mixed packs so you can create your own mix of lettuce leaves.
  • Make a shallow trench with a cane approximately 1.5 cm deep then sow the seeds in short rows about 30 cm apart.  Cover with soil, label then water.
  • You will need to thin out the seedlings when they are around 2 cm tall to give them space to grow.

 

Tip – always keep soil moist, especially nearing harvest time as dry soil will cause plants to put their energy into producing flowers.