Growing lettuce is easy

Lettuce loves growing in the cool weather of spring. It shrugs off light frosts, although growing temperatures between 45 and 75 are preferred. Lettuce is so easy to grow, it's time to get planting.

Planting

Prepare the soil. Make sure it is loose, well-drained and rich with organic matter. Work in a high-nitrogen fertilizer like blood meal.

Plant seeds according to the depth listed on the seed packet. Be careful not to plant them too deeply. Plant them in straight-as-soldiers rows or broadcast seeds over a small area for a carpet of lettuce.

Keep soil slightly moist until seedlings appear. When plants have two or three true leaves, they must be thinned anywhere from 6 to 18 inches apart depending on the variety. Again, follow the directions on the seed packet. Lettuce plants grown too closely together are prone to disease so be ruthless. With scissors cut out excess plants so those remaining can be grown at the proper spacing.

For a continuous supply of lettuce, plant a third of the seeds now, a third in two weeks, and the remaining seeds two weeks after that.

Lettuce can also be planted from transplants. Your local garden center has many varieties already growing in small pots. Plant them at the same depth in the garden as they were growing in their pots. Check their tags for spacing recommendations but generally leaf lettuces are planted 4-6 inches apart and loose-headed types 8-12 inches apart.

Care

Lettuce is shallow rooted. It needs consistent moisture so watering is required if rainfall does not provide at least 1 inch of water each week.

Continue to fertilize every few weeks with the high-nitrogen fertilizer of your choice.

Weed as necessary, but pull them carefully around lettuce plants to avoid root disturbance.

Harvesting

Err on the side of too early when harvesting lettuce — the younger the leaves, the sweeter the taste. The immature leaves of leaf lettuces are delicious in salads.

Harvest in the morning when leaves are at their sweetest and most succulent. Avoid picking in the hot afternoon sun if possible.

Gather some leaves at the outside of the plant and cut almost all the way done to the soil line. Center leaves will continue to grow, and given enough water, looseleaf, butterhead and romaine types may also sprout again from the base. Lettuce planted in rows can be harvested down one side and then up the other. By the time the process is completed, it may be time to begin a second harvest.

If the characteristic rosette of Bibb lettuces is desired, wait until it is near mature size and then harvest the entire plant. Patience is also required if the goal is full heads of Batavia and romaine varieties.

Growing lettuce in containers

Lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to grow in containers as long as they are watered frequently. Plants can even be tucked into spring planters of pansies and other cool-season annuals. Pots or bowls planted in a mix of lettuce varieties is a rich tapestry of color and flavor.

A benefit to growing lettuce in containers is they can be moved to shadier conditions once the heat of summer sets in prolonging leaf production and delaying bolting.

Types of lettuce

There are many more flavorful varieties than iceberg lettuce.

Butterhead lettuces have small, round, loosely formed heads of melt-in-your-mouth leaves. Boston varieties have larger leaves than Bibb types.

Leaf lettuces don't form heads. They are available in green or red varieties. Oak leaf types have oak-leaf shaped leaves that taste a bit spicier. Leaf lettuces grow quickly and are best for harvesting a few leaves at a time.

Romaine lettuces have open, upright heads of long richly-colored leaves. They have stronger flavor than leaf lettuces and their midribs give a crunch to salads or sandwiches.

Growing lettuce is easy and takes very little space. Lettuce grown in the garden contains more Vitamin A and tastes better. Get some seeds or transplants and get growing!

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist and the garden center manager at The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040, ext. 2, or visit planterspalette.com.