Each twelvemonth , the United States grows more than 4 million metric lots of lettuce . It ’s been a part of our diet since Christopher Columbus introduce it to the New World , was a favorite in Colonial time and remain the land ’s leading reinvigorated vegetable craw today , with each of us consuming approximately 36 Syrian pound of it per year .
It ’s no wonderment , really , that this leafy veg is so popular . It ’s full of antioxidant and vitamin K , contains plenty of vitamins A and C ( especially in darker - color variety ) , and is a ripe source of vitamin M . Plus , it ’s tasty , does n’t require cooking — though many cooks around the public do so — and is easy to farm . There ’s one more surprising attribute to supply to the inclination of reason for its popularity : Many boodle also contain lactucarium — ordinarily acknowledge as lettuce - opium — a mild analgesic and downer that can generate a weak opium - like common sense of euphory . The whitish latex paint sap of lettuce was ( and still is ) reap , reduced and used in lozenges and tincture as a quietus help and natural bother reliever . Even though the compound is n’t actually a drug or narcotic of any sorting , many say you could obtain a “ lettuce high school ” simply by eating a freehanded salad .
Although feeling a post - salad sense of euphory should n’t be your main understanding for consuming lettuce , wanting to eat more of it sure is n’t a spoiled affair . It ’s good for you , after all , and lettuce ’s relief of increase gain it one vegetable that even beginners can grow in copiousness .
Rachael Brugger
Pick Your Lettuce Variety
Most large - scale commercial lolly output takes position in Arizona and California , but little - scale of measurement farmers across the country can harvest the benefit of lettuce ’s popularity by growing forfarmers ’ markets , farm stall , specialty markets and eatery chefs .
Commercial production focuses largely on a small fistful of varieties that are uniform in increase , have a decent shelf life and are shippable , but hobby granger have far more extensive choices . According to a written report by the Agricultural Marketing Research Center at the University of California , iceberg lettuce remains the most popular type , though its ranking is tardily falling as the popularity of cos and leaf lettuces rise . With the addition in packaged lettuce mix , belittled - scale farmers can turn a profit on colorful salad premix and unusual sort that are often more nutritious - dim than iceberg and are more appealing within today ’s “ buy local ” cause .
Lettuce is generally categorized into five distinct mathematical group :
Rachael Brugger
The paint to grow lettuce is to diversify .
“ There are so many different varieties and colors and grain , and such a remainder in flavor profiles amongst miscellany , ” aver Josh Kirschenbaum , head of ware development for Territorial Seed Company in Cottage Grove , Ore. “ You would be doing yourself a great injustice if you only grew one type . ”
“ And along with the dissimilar colors , come different nutritional values , ” he pronounce , adding that “ we eat with our eye first , ” so take variety to the salad plate is a beautiful thing for many reasons .
Plant Lettuce Seeds
No matter whattype ( or types ) of lettuceyou decide to grow , a few simple steps will encourage your success . First and foremost , understand that cabbage is a cool - season crop and grows well when daytime temperature are between 60 and 70 grade F. In Oregon , that means Kirschenbaum is planting lettuce from early to previous spring and then again at the kickoff of fall . Linda Lehmusvirta , producer of Central Texas Gardener for PBS affiliate KLRU - TV , develop her lettuce throughout the winter , plant from September to mid - March .
Wherever you live , plan to institute lettuce when the temperatures are appropriate for the longest catamenia of prison term . Most lettuce varieties postulate 30 to 50 days to reach maturity , so plan accordingly .
simoleons dislikes heat and will bolt out ( i.e. , go to flower ) when temperatures rise and days lengthen . gardener in the extreme North can sometimes get away with grow dinero in the summertime month , but for most of the state , spring and fall are the most meet . Position clams where it receives a lower limit of six hour of direct sun ( though summer - grown craw stomach , and might even choose , full shadiness ) and amend the stain with passel of organic matter . Lettuce grows best with asoil pHof 6.0 to 6.5.Test your soilevery few years and line up it consequently .
There are two elemental way to get your gelt craw started : direct - seeding out-of-doors or sow seeds indoors under grow lights . Direct - seeding loot into the garden is less time - take and does n’t require any particular equipment . Seeds are sown according to package instructions when grunge temperatures array from 40 to 70 degree F. The disadvantage to verbatim - seeding are an increase risk of infection of going due to weather consideration , the overutilization of seed ( i.e. , sowing too thickly ) and the motivation to thin the resulting seedlings .
Many gardeners prefer to lineal - sow lettuce seed they plan to harvest in the “ baby ” microscope stage , as new , undeveloped greens . Meant to process as a “ cut - and - follow - again ” salad , seeds can be purposely sow thicker because full - sized heads will never build up .
Starting ejaculate indoors is also good to many gardeners . The Farmer at Cure Organic Farm in Boulder , Colo. , have found that starting seeded player in agreenhouseyields in high spirits germination charge per unit than direct - seeding . And because the lead transplantation are space in good order in the garden , Kirschenbaum adds , it ’s less wasteful , specially for variety grow to maturity .
“ The seminal fluid is very little and there are about 25,000 seeds per oz. and so if I direct sow , I ’m going to have to thin and there will be dense patches and empty patches . I have more dominance over those issues by starting them indoors , ” he says . “ begin the source is easy because you do n’t have to keep them quick for honorable sprouting , so there is no need for heating Master of Arts in Teaching . Nor is there a indigence to transplant them into larger container . I start them in a 72 - cell flat and render to get one semen per cell . ” They get transplanted into the garden when they have two sets of true leave and are a minimum of 2 to 3 column inch high-pitched .
Nancy Knauss , a horticulture pedagog with Penn State ’s Extension , adds that lettuce seedlings should be hardened - off for two to three hebdomad before proceed them into the garden for good . This process involves step by step increase the amount of meter the seedlings pass outdoors as well as their Lord’s Day photo . provide excess trade protection to newly planted lettuce transplants during cold night and days is helpful , as well . get across the plants with glass or plastic cloche ( old milk jugs with the bottoms veer off and the lids remove oeuvre like a spell ) or with floating rowing covers increases their chances of succeeder during those fragile first few week .
“ All this is unnecessary , of course , if you start your wampum by lineal - seeding , ” Knauss says .
Fertilize Lettuce Plants
Once your clams plants take off , care for them is a zephyr . Kirschenbaum fecundate his lettuce at planting time with an organic granular fertiliser .
“ Lettuce is n’t a heavy self-feeder at all , so we just use a little bit betimes in the season but then nothing afterward in the year , ” he says . “ But if you have very poor soil , or your plants look weak , you could use a fluid organic plant food with a slightly higher nitrogen depicted object . ”
Lehmusvirta echo his thoughts : “ I apply an organic granular that contains lucerne repast at planting clock time , and then during the raise season , I use a smooth fish photographic emulsion or seaweed . After I do my Sunday harvest , I drench the leaves and filth with it and by the time I ’m quick for my mid - calendar week harvest , the ‘ shitty material ’ is gone . ” Over - fertilizing can leave in pest troubles , especially with aphids , so take caution not to overdo it .
Water your plants adequately , providing them with at least 1 inch of water per week . They have a very high body of water message , and lack of moisture promotes ahead of time bolting and rancor . Mulching lettuce flora withcompost , leaf mold , straw orhaykeeps moisture levels stable and cuts down on unneeded lacrimation . If possible , water in the morn to admonish fungous issues and pest suffering .
Harvest Lettuce
Lettuce harvests should take shoes in the break of day , too , because the plants are more turgid at that metre .
“ The in high spirits the moisture content , the longer the shelf - animation , ” Knauss says . you could harvest just a few unseasoned leaves or uproot the whole flora .
“ If you harvest just infant greens , you may get several harvests from each row , ” Kirschenbaum says . “ Pinch off the older leaves with your finger , but leave the maturate point intact . Or you may use scissors if you want to . ”
Lettuce is one of the easy and most diverse vegetable to grow . It has gourmet - timber flavor and princely practiced looks with minimum investment of fourth dimension and money .
“ All the achiever stories involve cool weather , ” Kirschenbaum remark . “ Remember that — no matter where you live . And if you do n’t have a lot of experience growing different types , then get a seminal fluid mix and produce that to find out which multifariousness you care well . It ’s one of those things that even if you do n’t have a lot of place , there ’s still chance — lolly grows attractively in container . You really have no exculpation not to grow it ! ”
