Although lettuce grows fastest in full sun, it is one of the few vegetables that tolerates some shade. In fact, a spring crop often lasts longer if shaded from the afternoon sun as the season warms. You can grow lots of lettuce in a small space, even a container.
Can lettuce get too much sun?
Too Much Daylight for Lettuce Plants
Their leaves will toughen and turn bitter, their sap will become milky, and they’ll put up a central seed stem. At that point, unless you’re planning to save seed, you should simply pull the plants and harvest any usable leaves that remain.
What is the most heat tolerant lettuce?
Butterhead lettuce is usually known for being among the most heat-tolerant and bolt-resistant of all the lettuce types.
Can lettuce burn in the sun?
Keep Lettuce Plants Well-Watered
The lettuce leaves are comprised mostly of water and will desiccate and wilt in strong sunlight and dry soil.
Can you grow lettuce when it’s hot?
Lettuce seeds germinate poorly in warm summer soil since heat may cause seed dormancy. Lettuce may bolt in response to the stress of high temperatures, and the leaves may become bitter as the plant puts its growth into flowering (see photo at right).
How do you protect lettuce from heat?
3) Provide lettuce with extra shade
Give your lettuce plants afternoon shade, either on the east side of a building or in the shade of taller plants. You can also protect them with a 40% shade cloth. Just be sure to elevate the shade cloth to allow plenty of air circulation around the plants.
How do you keep lettuce from burning on the tip?
Avoiding inner leaf “tip-burn” in lettuce
- Fertilize with adequate amounts of calcium. First check that adequate calcium is supplied in the nutrient program.
- Calcium foliar sprays.
- Modify the growing climate.
- Avoid antagonistic effects from other fertilizer nutrients.
- Avoid high soluble salts.
- Select resistant varieties.
How much heat can lettuce tolerate?
Lettuce can tolerate a few days of temperatures from 80 to 85°F, provided that nights are cool. Lettuce seed will germinate at 35°F, but optimum germination is 70 to 75°F.
What kind of lettuce can you plant in summer?
Three good choices are: Buttercrunch (55-days), a small, fast-maturing, dark green bibb lettuce; Tom Thumb, (35-50-days) an easy, fast-growing miniature variety of butterhead; and Red Cross (48d), a heat- tolerant, red butterhead.
Is red romaine lettuce heat tolerant?
Romaine lettuce is sometimes tricky to grow in the heat, although it is relatively heat tolerant. Look for romaine varieties developed in hotter regions, like Jericho, a variety developed in Egypt. Other heat tolerant romaine lettuces include Anuenue, and Coastal Star.
What vegetables dont need full sun?
Fruits and Vegetables That Grow in the Shade
- Kale. A tried-and-true favorite that’s experienced recent popularity, kale is prolific in cool seasons and in shadier areas of the garden.
- Broccoli.
- Cauliflower.
- Cabbage.
- Brussels Sprouts.
- Beets.
- Radishes.
- Carrots.
How often should lettuce be watered?
ANSWER: Lettuce should be watered not daily but instead about twice a week, or once every four or five days, for most of its growing period. It will need to be watered lightly but more frequently for the first two weeks after planting, perhaps daily, depending on your climate.
Where does lettuce grow best?
Lettuce grows best in loose, cool soil with good drainage. The addition of organic materials, such as compost or manure, will increase drainage, provide essential nutrients and improve your lettuce growing conditions.
What month do you plant lettuce?
Lettuce seeds germinate best in the cooler temperatures of spring or fall. If it’s too hot, they won’t germinate. So, the best time to plant lettuce seeds is as soon as the ground is workable in very early spring, or once the temps start to cool down in late summer or early fall.
Does spinach like full sun?
Spinach likes full sun but will tolerate partial shade. Prepare the planting bed by amending the soil with rich compost or aged manure. Mini-till or spade the ground and level it off with a rake. Mature spinach has a long taproot, so loosen the soil to between 12 and 18 inches.
How do you harvest lettuce so it keeps growing?
Plan to harvest your lettuce leaves in the morning, when they’ll be at their crispest. Cut the outer lettuce leaves about 1 inch above the crown. This protects the crown so the lettuce can continue growing. Cut off the amount of lettuce needed when the leaves reach a length between 3 and 6 inches.
What temp kills lettuce?
Lettuce may cope with light freezing and even one or two hard freezes, but once the thermometer reads 25°F or below, the plants are in danger.
Can you grow lettuce in 80 degree weather?
Ideally, for tasty lettuce growing, you need to keep your soil temperatures between 45 and 80 degrees. Keeping below 80 degrees is hard to do here. Fortunately, there’s a trick to preparing a place to plant and even keeping it growing without bolting. Choose a shaded place and then moisten the ground.
What can you not plant with lettuce?
Try to avoid growing lettuce next to broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, or kohlrabi—while some varieties of lettuce may help these cabbage-family (brassicas) crops to grow, these plants have particular root secretions that can prevent lettuce seeds from germinating.
What does tip burn look like?
It is characterized by the browning of the tips (and margins) of leaves, while the remainder of the leaf remains healthy. New leaves may look normal when they emerge, but as they mature the tips will gradually develop the same symptoms.
Why are the edges of my lettuce turning brown?
When lettuce leaves are torn, some cells are damaged and the browning reaction begins. But even if there is no tearing, even if we have a whole head of lettuce, there will eventually be browning. That’s because aging of the cells also leads to damage and mixing of the polyphenols with the enzyme.