This time we are going to talk about lettuce: what varieties to choose and how to grow them? Lettuce is the ideal ingredient for salads par excellence, it is rich in water and quite easy to grow. It is a genuine vegetable that grows very quickly and has a delicious and unmistakable flavor.
This vegetable cannot be missing in the home garden because we can enjoy it in almost all seasons of the year. In general, it is recommended to sow the lettuce seeds during the spring, since they will germinate if too much difficulty. Although, to choose the best time to sow them, we should make sure that the soil has a temperature between 15 to 20 ° C.
Although we can sow the seeds of this vegetable in other seasons of the year, it is necessary to adopt some more measures. But the truth is that, learning how to grow lettuce in any season should not be too complicated.
What types of lettuce can we find in the market?
If we take a walk around the market, we will find dozens of varieties of lettuce. Bunch or cut lettuces, with foliage colored green or with red stripes. Lettuces of different colors have a particular flavor nuance and that is something that we should take advantage of. The rich variety of colorful lettuces gives us the opportunity to give you a feast of colors and flavors to the palate.
Cut lettuces and bunch lettuces.
Cut lettuce is quite tender and should be picked while it is still soft. If we put it like this, within reach on the table, it will create a real great spring outline. If we water properly, the plants that were cut grow back quickly, we are talking about an average of two weeks.
The leafy and smooth lettuce can also be served at the table with some raw onions to enhance the salad. They are prone to rot due to excess water, so we must water them moderately and eliminate stagnant water.
To obtain bushes of good dimensions we must transplant the young seedlings as soon as they have emitted the third and fourth leaves. The recommended distance for good production is 30 cm apart from each other. Of course, this is the case with bunch lettuces. Cut lettuces, on the other hand, always grow upwards only.
We must know what is the moment of maximum development of the plant in which the harvest should be carried out. To know if we can already start a plant, we must look at the part in its internal part. If the lettuce begins to open, it means that it is about to flower, therefore, you have to hurry to pick it up.
How to prepare the ground for growing lettuce?
The portion of the land designated for growing lettuce should be divided into small rectangles of land. Each of these rectangles must be meticulously worked and fertilized sparingly, preferably using organic fertilizers.
It should accommodate at least three varieties per bunch and three cut varieties. The former is spaced from each other by approximately 30 cm and develop an inner balloon, the heart. Cut lettuces, on the other hand, are planted much denser and develop mainly upwards.
To prepare a good bed to sow lettuce we must use a rake. The soil is removed by opening furrows and removing rough clods that will make cultivation difficult. For better lettuce cultivation, it is recommended that the soil be as flat as possible.
Even though we can plant the lettuce the way we want, there is an increasing tendency to plant in rows. These grooves should be spaced about 10 centimeters apart to facilitate watering.
As long as the seeds have not germinated, we must make sure that the soil has enough moisture. For this we can spread a cloth or cloth on the ground, this will also protect the seeds from the birds. Once we have the fabric ready, we proceed to water evenly.
The harvest is done with a knife or scissors cutting the leaves from the base. After a while the root, left in the ground, will emit new leaves.
