3 Review(s)

Lettuce is one of the first vegetables of spring. Used fresh in salads and other dishes, it adds a crisp flavor and texture to your food. The plant comes in both leaf and head varieties. Harvest leaf lettuce as it is needed throughout the growing season for a constant supply, but harvest head lettuce once the heads are fully developed. Start leaf lettuce directly in the bed as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, and plant head lettuce indoors for early spring transplanting. Instructions Leaf Lettuce 1.Rake the soil surface in a full-sun garden bed, breaking up any large clods of dirt. Mist the soil with water if it is dry. 2.Sow 10 seeds per every 10 feet of garden row. Make a 1/2-inch-deep furrow along each row and sprinkle the seeds into the furrow. Cover the seeds with the soil. Space the rows 12 to 18 inches apart. 3.Moist the soil surface with a fine spray of water if it begins to dry out. Seeds usually germinate within seven days. 4.Thin the seedlings to four inches apart in each row once sprouts emerge. Pluck out the extra seedlings, leaving the rest in place. Head Lettuce 5.Fill a seed-starting flat with a fine-textured potting soil. Water the soil until it is evenly moist throughout. 6.Sow lettuce seeds 1/4 inch deep in rows. Space the seeds two inches apart in all directions. 7.Cover the flat with a plastic bag, which maintains soil moisture during germination. North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension recommends placing the flat in a 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit room to germinate. 8.Remove the plastic bag once seedlings emerge. Place the lettuce in a sunny windowsill in a 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit room. Water when the soil surface begins to dry. Note: 1 Keep seeds stored in a cool, dry place. 2 Futuhoudu seed surface is 1-2 times the seed diameter.