Lettuce

Lettuce Crop 2008

I love the lettuce you can grow in Washington! The variety makes for a beautiful salad worthy of some homemade dressing. That is another blog in itself?

It is a little early, but I did find some Buttercrunch at Watson's Nursery, and Branches. This year I will be planting Buttercrunch, Gourmet Salad Blend, and Baby Butterhead Lettuce. Buttercrunch is a delicious head lettuce that adds to a great salad, or great on burger. It is very popular and can be found in any nursery and grocery store. Gourmet Salad Blend is a variety of leaf lettuce, and the mix makes for a great salad. Baby Butterhead Lettuce, this is my favorite to grow. It is a small head, tender and sweet. Great things come in small packages...and that is the Baby Butterhead Lettuce! They will be carrying it as Gardensphere Nursery in 2 to 3 weeks. I was also able to get it last year at Portland Nursery. Enjoy this spring and summer growing some amazing lettuce, we live in the perfect climate!!!

About Growing Lettuce: Head lettuce need more room when planting than leaf. I put my plants out as early as I can get plants, although at times I have to protect them from a frost. You can use anything from milk cartons to pre-made row covers available at Watson's Nursery. You can make your own using fabric, slats of wood and PVC or metal wire.

The benefit in planting early is you can continually plant through the summer, as long as you make sure you keep the soil moist. If it dries out lettuce will become bitter. This is only a problem when we get into summer and don't get any rain. I found that planting in partial shade in mid-summer helps. I plant my tomato plant in the middle of my lettuce, then by the time my tomato plant grows, my lettuce has some shade to hold in moisture.

I am planting my first crop of lettuce March 17th. Some I will put in the ground, and some in pots. Slugs are a problem in spring with all the rain we get, so planting in pots help with slug control. I have found that making a perimeter of eggshells helps, and I know other friends have had success with a perimeter of saw dust, and wood ashes.

Good Companions: Everything! That's the beauty of lettuce. Especially carrot, onion and radish.

Bad Companions: NONE

Planting: Space leaf lettuce plants 8" apart in a row, and head lettuce 12". Soil needs to be turned in and loose enough for the shallow delicate roots to take hold. Soil must also be moist and not allowed to dry out. If you plant 2 shallow root plants in the same area, make sure to give them extra compost (onions are a good companion, but are also a shallow root plant). If your garden has plenty of organic matter and lots of wiggle friends, you know there is plenty of food to maintain a healthy crop of lettuce and onions.

Harvesting: Leaf lettuce matures 45-55 days and you can start harvesting the outer leaves as soon as they are big enough to add to your salad. Cut as close to the soil as you can. The plant will continue to grow and you should continue to harvest until a center stem starts to grow. At that point the lettuce harvest is over, and you can pull up the plant and replant another crop. Head lettuce matures in 65-75 days, make sure you harvest while the plant is still young and tender. Again, when the plant grows the center stem, the harvest is over. I prefer to harvest from the garden to the dinner table, but if you must harvest and store, make sure you harvest in the morning and store up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Let us garden together!

Ruby