Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) takes up little space and can be edible within a week of planting. However, overcrowding lettuce or planting it in areas with little light can lower your crop yield. There are a few tips to know to grow lettuce in the garden or indoors so as not to waste your time, effort and money.
Can you plant lettuce close together?
Generally, you should space plants far enough apart so that they can grow to full size. However, many gardeners plant lettuce much closer together, preferring to harvest leaves continuously before they reach full size. The plants adapt to their spacing.
How close can lettuce plants be?
Spacing between plants depends on the variety: Loose-leaf lettuce: Plant or thin to 4 inches apart. Romaine (cos) and butterhead (loose-head, Bibb, Boston) lettuce: Plant or thin to 8 inches apart. Crisphead (iceberg) lettuce: Plant or thin to 16 inches apart.
How much space should be between rows of lettuce?
For head lettuce, rows 30 to 42 inches apart are common. Regardless of the row width, the in-row spacing between each head lettuce plant should be 12 inches. If 42-inch rows are used, yield can be increased by planting 2 seed rows per bed.
How much space does a lettuce plant need to grow?
If you are planting your lettuce in a garden, make sure you space the plants correctly. Larger heads of lettuce should be planted about 10 to 12 inches apart. Baby lettuce can be planted 6 to 8 inches apart. Lettuce can also be grown in any container that is at least 4 to 6 inches deep and has drainage holes.
Will lettuce regrow after cutting?
Head lettuce will die back, but most leaf-lettuce plants renew efforts to produce leaves, if regularly watered after trimming. Results will often be smaller than the original plant, but you may be able to harvest a second, good-tasting crop within as little as two weeks.
What should you not plant beside 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.
How often should lettuce be watered?
Lettuce has shallow roots, so plants need consistent watering. Check at least twice a week and water if the soil is dry down to 1 inch deep. Containers of lettuce need to be watered more frequently than garden beds, especially in the summer.
Why is my lettuce growing tall?
ANSWER: Lettuce plants that suddenly start stretching toward the sky and growing extra tall are likely to be bolting. In the bolting stage, a plant stops focusing so much on producing foliage and starts to turn its attention toward reproduction, sending out a flower stalk that will eventually dry to release seeds.
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.
How long does it take for lettuce to grow?
Most lettuce varieties mature in 45 to 55 days, allowing many gardeners to plant two or even three crops. But looseleaf and butterhead leaves can be harvested at just about any time in their development. Heading varieties take longer to mature. Romaine takes 75 to 85 days and crisphead 70 to 100 days.
How long does it take to grow a head of lettuce?
It’s a good idea to make a note on your calendar when your greens are expected to mature. To do this, check the seed packet for ‘days to maturity’ and do some calculating. Lettuce can take 65-100 days or so to reach maturity, depending on the variety that you tuck into your garden bed.
Does lettuce grow well in pots?
Almost all the lettuce varieties grow well in pots. As their shallow roots don’t need deep soil, they do best in wide and shallow containers. The pot must have adequate drainage holes in the bottom and should be at least 6-8 inches deep. You can use any material for pots such as plastic, clay, or terracotta pots.
How deep do lettuce roots go?
about 6 inches
Lettuces have fairly short root systems and only require about 6 inches of soil. Choosing a shallower, longer pot will give you more surface area, which means room to grow more plants. Many greens, like spinach and kale, also do well in these shallow, elongated pots.
How tall does lettuce grow?
How –
| Temperature | |
|---|---|
| Germination | 40 – 80 F |
| Seed Planting Depth | 1/4 – 1/2″ |
| Root Depth | 18 – 36″, taproot to 5′ |
| Height | 6 – 12″ |
How many times can lettuce be harvested?
By harvesting leaf lettuce through trimming it a few inches above the soil, you can get two to three harvests from one planting.
When should I trim my lettuce?
You’ll know when to harvest lettuce leaves when they grow to about 3 to 6 inches long, depending on the variety. Keep harvesting the leaves until the lettuce plant “bolts.” This means that plant has turned its energy to producing flowers and seeds and leaves usually become bitter-tasting with tough stems.
What does bolting lettuce look like?
But when temperatures start to rise, lettuce plants begin flowering, or bolting. You’ll notice the main stem starting to grow tall with lots of space between the leaves. Then, the leaves turn bitter and lose their juiciness.
Can I grow lettuce next to tomatoes?
Lettuce is a great companion because it’s a good use of space. You can fill in the space between tomato plants with lettuce, and the tomato plants can help shade the lettuce from the hot summer sun.
Can lettuce and cucumbers be planted together?
Lettuce, as a companion plant is good next to strawberries, radishes, carrots, and you guessed it, cucumbers. Again, for no special reasons, other than the fact that they do not dislike each other. For beneficial companion plants, that is reason enough.
Can lettuce grow near cucumbers?
The Best Lettuce Companion Plants
Good Companions for Lettuce are beets, broccoli, bush and pole beans, carrots, cucumbers, dill, onion, radish and strawberries.