TIPS FOR GROWING LETTUCE FROM SEED

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Learn how to grow lettuce from seed and enjoy crisp, fresh leaves for salads and more! Get tips for sowing seeds and improving your harvest!

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Lettuce is the base of all great salads, but with raising grocery prices it's hard to get your hands on any for a good price. See how to grow your own lettuce from seed, and skip the checkout next time.

Varieties

There are many varieties of lettuce. Iceberg is the classic found in most salads. Romaine is a great leaf lettuce for sandwiches, and more varieties.

Seeds

Lettuce seeds are typically gray or brown, and they are long and flat.

Starting seeds indoors

Start seeds indoors about four weeks before the final frost. Plant the seeds 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep in seed starting soil. Barely cover with soil and keep temperatures between 6o and 65 degrees.

Starting seeds outdoors

After the danger of frost has past, direct sow seeds into the smooth well draining soil. Make a shallow trench and sprinkle seeds. Cover them lightly with soil and keep the soil consistently moist.

Hardening

Seeds started indoors will need to be hardened off before they can be transplanted. For a week bring them outside during the day, and back inside at night.

Spacing

For full heads of lettuce plant seedlings at least 10 inches apart. If you want to harvest without killing the seedling plant 3 inches apart, and harvest leaves from the outer edge.

Harvesting lettuce

Lettuce is ready to be harvested in about 50 days. You can continue harvesting until the plant turns bitter. Consider planting in succession to extend the harvest season.

Learn more about growing lettuce from seeds at the link below.