Save Some Space For Lettuce When Planning Your Garden

By Jos Van Hage

Lettuce can be found growing in all types of gardens, greenhouses and containers from early spring to early fall, in our Prince George climate.

The main ingredient in many salads it is one of the most popular vegetables and has been eaten for thousands of years. Native to the Mediterranean it was brought over to the “New World” (America) by Christopher Columbus and has been enjoyed here ever since.

Lettuce is a cool season vegetable and so can be one of the first seeds sown into the garden in the spring. Seeds can be sown in intervals of 10-14 days apart so that there is always a fresh supply of lettuce in the garden, and this can be done until early August. Lettuce grows best in a rich, humous, well drained soil, that has a pH of 6.0-7.0. The seeds are very fine and so only need to be scattered on the soil and then be covered with a shallow layer of soil. To be grown successfully lettuce must continue to grow each day with no stress, or else the leaves can become tough and leathery. This means that they should be kept moist, and fertilized, with old manure, compost, or a fertilizer high in nitrogen.

When irrigating the garden do it in the morning or afternoon so that the plant is dry at night, preventing disease. When the young seedlings have their first true leafs they need to be thinned. The thinned out seedlings can be eaten as fresh greens or be transplanted somewhere else.

When transplanting lettuce either from the garden or bedding plants do it on a cloudy, cool day so that the plant can recover quickly. Head and romaine lettuce should be spaced 8-10 inches apart so that the heads can develop properly.

Lettuce plants do not stay in the garden for a long time and so if space is limited you can plant a row of lettuce between rows of later vegetables such as broccoli, or brussel sprouts, so that by the time the lettuce is harvested there will be enough growing room for the later vegetables.

Another idea if space is limited, is to plant some early leaf lettuce in the flowerbed as they are nice looking plants and can be harvested before the flowers get to full size. Leaf lettuce also grows very well in containers. Lettuce can be harvested by pulling out the plant and then cutting off the roots or some gardeners cut it an inch from the ground allowing for a second crop.

Lettuce is tasty at any stage but when lettuce is ready it should be picked within a week and after that it will begin to bolt. To continue to have fresh lettuce throughout the spring/summer plant successive seedings, or planting different varieties that mature at different times.

 To extend the growing season for lettuce you can plant some in the greenhouse or cold frame in the early spring and then again in late summer, but because it is a cool weather crop you do not want to grow it in the greenhouse over the summer because it does not do well in a very hot climate.

There are many different varieties of lettuce that fall into 4 main categories.

The 'Butterheads' take 65-80 days to mature and form small, loose heads, which have a creamy coloured centre and buttery texture and are mild tasting. '

Crispheads' commonly known as icebergs because in the 1920's, the California farmers would cover the crispheads with crushed ice before shipping them and so the consumers would say the 'icebergs are coming'. Crispheads take 80-90 days to mature, form solid light green heads with a crispy texture.

 'Romaine' produce upright clusters of crisp dark outer leafs and lighter inside leafs. They have a strong taste and are used for Caesar salads, and can take 75 -85 days to mature.

'Leaf Lettuce' do not form heads because the leafs are joined at the stem.

 There are many varieties that come in different colours, tastes, and textures and they mature quickly. Lettuce is high in Vitamins A and C and Calcium and Iron. The darker leafed types are more nutritious than the lighter green types. Lettuce is included in many diets because of its low calorie count with approximately 10 calories per cup.

Whether you have a very small, or large garden, or no garden at all you can always find a spot to grow some of this good looking, nutritious vegetable.

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates  two Art Knapp Home and Garden Centres in Prince George:

·        Highway 16 west at Kimball Road,

·        Highway 97 north at  Northwood Pulpmill Road.

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