Growing lettuce from seeds at home, in a greenhouse and in open ground, when to plant. How to properly plant lettuce in open ground with seeds

Whether you've run out of space in your garden or just want to grow lettuce all year round, this plant is easy and simple to grow at home. Because lettuce thrives at room temperature and in direct sunlight, it adapts well to home conditions and will survive well with basic care. Even if you've never kept any plants in your home before, you won't need anything more than regular potting soil, water, fertilizer and light or a sunny window to keep the plants growing strong. A month after planting the seeds, it will be possible to harvest the lettuce!

Steps

Part 1

Sowing lettuce seeds in pots

Choose a lettuce variety that does well at home. While most varieties of lettuce can be grown at home, you may have an easier time succeeding with some than others. Purchase any of the following lettuce varieties from a garden center or seed store:

• “Moscow Greenhouse”;
• “Emerald lace”;
• "Parliament";
• “Dubrava”;
• "May";
• “Parisian green”;
• “Bettner”;
• “Merlot.”

1. Fill the pot with soil for forcing the seeds. The soil for forcing seeds should be light to promote root growth and provide good drainage without allowing water to stagnate. If you are unable to find special soil for forcing seeds, you can prepare it yourself from equal parts of sphagnum or coconut fiber, vermiculite and sand.

   Sow the seeds in the ground about 2.5 cm apart. Dig a hole 1–1.5 cm deep in the soil and place lettuce seeds in it at a distance of about 2.5 cm from each other. Limit yourself to four seeds per pot so you don't have to thin out the seedlings once they emerge. If you want to plant more than four seeds, prepare several pots in advance.

   Lightly sprinkle the seeds with soil and water. Take a handful of soil and carefully sprinkle it over the lettuce seeds. Fill a spray bottle with water and gently moisten the soil so as not to wash out the seeds.

   If you do not want to wait for germination, plant lettuce seedlings immediately. If you don't have the patience to wait for seedlings to appear, lettuce can be planted as seedlings. Use the same technique as if you were planting seeds: plant no more than four plants in pots.

   • You can buy ready-made lettuce seedlings secondhand or look for them at garden centers.

   Part 2

   Seedling care

   1. Moisten the soil in pots daily with a spray bottle until shoots appear. Once the seeds have sprouted, the lettuce will need watering equivalent to about 25mm of rain per week. Check the condition of the soil twice a day with your finger and water it when it is dry.

      • The soil should remain moist, but not waterlogged.
      • Another way to check the moisture level is to lift the pot. If it is heavy, then the soil is saturated with water.

   2. Grow lettuce at room temperature. Lettuce grows best at a temperature of 18–21℃. Turn on the air conditioning or heating as needed to keep your plants as stable as possible.

      • If it is warm or cool enough outside, you can periodically expose the plants to fresh air.

   3. Place the lettuce pots in a sunny window or under a fluorescent light. Lettuce grows best in direct sunlight. If you live where there is very little sun, buy a fluorescent light from a garden center and hang it about a foot above the lettuce.

      Water the salad when the leaves begin to wilt. Lettuce leaves begin to noticeably wilt when the plant does not have enough water. If you notice that the leaves are drooping, water the salad to make the soil moist again, but not soggy or soggy.

      • The higher the air temperature, the more often it is necessary to water the salad.

   4. Fertilize the lettuce three weeks after planting. Lettuce needs nitrogen fertilizer to grow, so three weeks after planting the seeds or when the first leaves appear, spray the seedlings with liquid fertilizer. Spray the fertilizer close to the soil so that it does not get directly onto the leaves and leave burns on them.

   Part 3

   Harvesting

   1. Start harvesting lettuce 30–45 days after planting. On average, lettuce takes 30–45 days to grow from seed to mature plant. Mark your calendar to begin harvesting in about 30 days.

      • Homemade lettuce continues to grow and mature, so after you pick its leaves for the first time, you can continue to harvest it later.
      • Grown lettuce at home usually grows up to 10 cm in height.

Can you tell me when to plant lettuce in open ground? I found several packets of seeds. Is it possible to sow them now next to tomatoes?

Lettuce is a crop that can be grown in the garden almost all year round. It is not afraid of the cold, loves the sun and water, and the seeds germinate quickly, which allows you to feast on fresh leaves from early spring until frost.

Sowing time

Early lettuce varieties should be sown in open ground starting in April. At this time, the earth has already warmed up enough for them to germinate quickly. Late and mid-season species are planted a month later - in May, and until the second ten days of June.

The peculiarities of lettuce ripening include the predominance of a bitter taste while the bush grows a stem. Then the leaves become inedible.

In order to have sweet and juicy leaves all summer, multiple sowing of seeds is practiced. Until the end of August, seeds are sown in the vacant space every 10 days. In addition, like all cold-resistant crops, lettuce tolerates low temperatures well, which makes it possible to sow it before winter (in October).

Where is the best place to plant?

Lettuce grows well in almost any soil, excluding clay, but more lush bushes are obtained when grown in loose and nutritious soil. To do this, dig up the designated area deeply in the fall, after adding humus (a bucket for each square meter).

Immediately before spring sowing, also feed the soil with mineral fertilizers, per square meter of soil:

• 1 tsp. potassium sulfate;
• 2 tsp. superphosphate;
• 2 tsp. Mortar.

At increased acidity Add additional wood ash.

It is better to lay out beds for lettuce in a sunny place, avoiding shading. Lettuce grows well after cucumbers and potatoes. In the summer, you can do combined plantings with tomatoes, onions or radishes.

How to plant?

In the loosened and fertilized area, make shallow grooves (up to 1 cm) and place the seeds in them. Since the bushes grow quite lush, you will need to make the row spacing up to 20 cm.

For greater convenience, small seeds can be mixed with sand.

Water the seeded bed well. When sowing in early spring, it is recommended to cover it with film to speed up germination.

How to care?

When all the seeds have sprouted and the seedlings have grown a little, they should be thinned out, leaving between the bushes:

• from 6 cm – for lettuce;
• from 10 cm – for cabbage varieties.

It is necessary to water the plantings once a week, and even less often when the heads of cabbage begin to set. After each watering, loosen the soil so that it does not form a crust.

As for fertilizing, provided that fertilizers are applied before planting, nothing else needs to be added to the beds. The only exceptions are head varieties of lettuce, which take longer to ripen than leaf varieties. They should be watered once with mullein or herb infusion.

Video about planting lettuce

Leaf lettuce or lettuce is a storehouse of vitamins and the fastest product that can be obtained from seeds. Useful and delicious greens You can please yourself all year round by growing it on a windowsill in winter and in open ground during the warm season.

In a greenhouse, these periods are significantly extended, and if it is possible to heat the greenhouse, lettuce is grown all year round. The technology for growing lettuce is simple, but requires simple techniques to obtain good harvest.

Growing lettuce in a greenhouse in winter and early spring

How to grow leaf lettuce in a greenhouse photo

Required temperature

Leaf lettuce is resistant to cold weather. It can be grown in a greenhouse from early spring, and if it is heated, grow it even in winter. Seeds can hatch at a temperature of 5-6 °C, young shoots can withstand temperatures down to -2 °C. For good growth and development, the optimal air temperature is 20 °C.

Choose cold-resistant varieties.

Soil preparation

Prepare the soil in the fall. Dig it thoroughly and feed it. For each m², add 40 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium chloride. The addition of organic matter (rotted manure) helps level the acidity level to neutral or slightly acidic. Also add slaked lime if the soil is acidic.

When and how to sow

Level the area. Start sowing when the air temperature inside the greenhouse at night does not fall below 0 °C (in an unheated greenhouse this is approximately mid-to-late March).

• Make rows 10cm apart.
• The seeding depth should be 1-2 cm.
• The weather is changeable, so if there is a threat of severe frost, mulch the soil with fine humus.

The growing process will take about 1 month.

How to care

When the seedlings appear, they should definitely be thinned out, especially if you are growing produce for sale: heavily thickened plantings will produce less quality greenery, the leaves will be small and pale.

How to break through and is it necessary to dive?

Lettuce growing from seeds when to plant and how to care

• Leave a minimum distance of 15-20 cm between plants to obtain large leaf rosettes.
• Many people practice picking lettuce; the plants are actually accepted and soon produce a good harvest. However, it should be noted that you are losing a couple of weeks of precious time.
• It is much easier, faster and more profitable to sow the required area at once and simply break through the extra seedlings than to engage in unproductive picking.

How to water

Water not often (1-2 times a week), but generously. Use cool water, but do not get it on the leaves. Water stagnation creates favorable environment for the occurrence of diseases.

Remove weeds as necessary and regularly loosen the soil between the rows.

How to feed

For good growth, fertilizing is necessary. During the growing season, apply a mixture of potassium chloride and ammonium nitrate 2 times: half a tablespoon of each fertilizer per 10 liters of water, but no later than a month before harvest, so that the products are safe and environmentally friendly.

Conditions for growing lettuce in open ground

In summer, leaf lettuce can be grown in open ground. To get fresh greens until autumn, sow every 14 days.

Choose varieties according to ripening time: early, mid, late ripening. Information about sowing and harvesting dates is indicated on the seed package. Each variety has its own characteristics: strictly follow the breeders’ recommendations on sowing dates, so that instead of a green harvest you do not get arrows with flower stalks.

For leaf lettuce, a place in light shade is preferable: the greens will turn out very tender and juicy.

Site preparation is carried out similarly to a greenhouse: autumn digging, fertilization.

When to plant lettuce seeds in open ground

Growing lettuce in open ground Proper care

Sowing time

You can start sowing lettuce from mid-April, when night temperatures do not drop below zero degrees, the threat of short-term frosts is allowed, but no more than 1-2°C below zero. Loosen the prepared area, break up large lumps and lumps.

Predecessors

Desirable crop precursors are peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, and potatoes. It gets along well next to beans, radishes, radishes, cucumbers, and onions; the latter will repel aphids, the main pest of lettuce.

How to sow

• For sowing, make furrows about 1-2 cm deep.
• Sow less often, preferably leaving 1-1.5 cm between seeds
• The distance between rows is 15-20 cm.
• Level the soil and water well.
• To speed up germination, cover the crops with film for the first few days.

Follow standard care procedures (similar to greenhouse ones): water, loosen the soil, remove weeds. When the plants sprout, thin them several times, leaving a total distance of 15-20 cm in the row.

How to sow lettuce in open ground in spring, watch the video:

Planting lettuce seeds in the ground is a simple task that can be entrusted even to children. This will be a good first experience in growing plants, especially when it comes time to collect the young, succulent leaves.

Growing lettuce at home in winter on a windowsill

Lettuce on the windowsill and balcony photo

To obtain juicy greens in winter time You can arrange a vegetable garden on a windowsill or covered balcony. Growing lettuce indoors is not difficult; even inexperienced gardeners can handle it.

Preparing soil and containers for sowing

Containers are required deep - about 35 cm.

Soil for planting can be purchased at the store or prepared yourself. Take soil from the site, add rotted manure, peat, mix in equal proportions. Use nitrophoska and urea as fertilizer.

Be sure to lay a drainage layer at the bottom of the container (you can use expanded clay, small pebbles, walnut shells).

How to sow

Lettuce on a windowsill growing from seeds in winter Photos of seedlings

• Deepen the seeds by 1-1.5 cm, keep a distance of 15 cm between rows.
• After sowing, carefully sprinkle the furrows with soil, moisten the crops with a spray bottle and cover with film.
• Shoots will appear soon, remove the film.

To ensure that plants develop well, thin out dense plantings to a minimum distance of 8-10 cm between plants.

How to care

Water deeply a couple of times a week. In room conditions, the air is dry - daily spraying from a spray bottle will be required.

Carry out loosening from the fourth week of growth: fragile roots of young plants are easily damaged.

Duration daylight hours in winter it is short, it must be extended for salad to at least 12 hours, so artificial lighting will be required.

How to sow and grow lettuce on a windowsill, watch the video:

Fresh and crisp salad on your table throughout the year - it's simple and easy. Lettuce is an annual vegetable plant that grows quickly and is used fresh. Lettuce does not take up much space, and in the smallest garden or even in flowerpots you can plant several heads of lettuce. Lettuce, as a completely unpretentious plant, can grow in any soil and does not require special knowledge to obtain a rich harvest.

Types of salad:

• Head lettuce is round, like cabbage, with widely spread smooth leaves. It grows very quickly and does not require special care.
• Iceberg lettuce - crispy lettuce forms a large head of rolled leaves that have a crunchy taste.
• Romaine lettuce - the leaves are crisp, elongated, growing vertically upward. It takes longer to ripen than other lettuce varieties and requires frequent watering.
• Curly lettuce - salad with big amount curly leaves without a core.

IN Lately Salads such as arugula, corn salad, watercress, frillis salad, and lettuce are very popular. Various in shape and color and taste properties, these annual fast-growing vegetables are mainly used fresh.

Growing lettuce

To get a lettuce harvest throughout the whole year, you need to sow seeds (spring, autumn, winter) every 2 weeks, and every week in summer.

Soil for growing lettuce. For growing lettuce in open ground, nutritious soils with good drainage and containing mineral impurities are best suited. The soil should not be too acidic, but well moistened. It is good to plant lettuce on the sunny side where there are no drafts; in the warmth it will ripen faster.


Spring sowing of lettuce in open ground. The place for sowing lettuce seeds needs to be dug up and organic and mineral fertilizers added, leveled, and backfilled - you can sow lettuce seeds.

To sow lettuce seeds in open ground, make furrows (oblong holes 2 cm deep at a distance of 20 cm from each other. Sow seeds rarely, lettuce grows very slowly if it is very thick; if you sow for seedlings, it can be thicker.

Plant the grown seedlings (plant 1 plant at a time) at a distance of 5 - 10 cm from each other. Regularly water the seedlings, weed and move the soil.

To obtain a rich harvest of plants, you need to loosen the soil in a timely manner, remove weeds and water regularly. During a period of drought without watering, the lettuce does not set into heads, its leaves become rough, bitter, and it blooms. In dense crops, lettuce heads cannot form and the plants bloom early.

Sowing lettuce seeds for seedlings

You can buy lettuce seedlings at the market or sow them yourself. Lettuce seeds are sown in small cups, pots or special greenhouses filled with compost or soil for seedlings. You need to sow the seeds 2 seeds per hole (hole) and water carefully. Cover the sown seeds with film or a lid for a mini-greenhouse.

In a few days, the seeds will germinate and cotyledons will appear. From those two sprouted seeds, choose the weaker plant and cut it below the cotyledon leaves; we don’t need it. Ventilate the greenhouse daily (leave it open for several hours a day) so that the plants gradually get used to environment. When the plants grow up and 3-4 true leaves appear, they can be transplanted into pots or open ground.

For a small garden, planting garden crops together in one bed is suitable. Lettuce is planted between previously planted vegetables or herbs, which grow much slower than lettuce.


Growing lettuce on a windowsill

In order for lettuce grown on the windowsill to produce a rich harvest, you need to choose the right place, container, soil and seeds. Any boxes or pots are suitable for salad; the height of the bulk soil must be at least 10 cm. The soil must be nutritious: turf soil, humus, sand (2:2:1). Having filled the container with soil, it needs to be compacted and watered warm water, then make depressions up to 1.5 cm, sow the seeds at a distance of up to 5 cm from each other, sprinkle the seeds with soil, water again, all that remains is to wait for the shoots. The best place for growing lettuce on the windowsill there will be southern window sills (additional light is required in winter). Lettuce seedlings need high air humidity, so spray them twice a day with warm water.

Lettuce care

Caring for lettuce is very easy: you don’t need to feed it (if you used nutrient soil). The main care consists of watering (once every 2 days), and then it will grow quickly, and after 30 days you can treat your family and friends with your own grown salad.

Loosening the soil, watering and weeding lettuce

For getting high yields, plants need timely loosening of the soil, destruction of weeds and watering. During a period of drought, without watering, the lettuce does not set heads, its leaves become rough, bitter, and the flower stem is thrown away. On crops that are not thinned out in a timely manner, heads cannot form and the plants bloom early.

Growing lettuce before winter

You can grow lettuce in autumn or winter in greenhouses. Of course, you will have to put in a little more effort and select specially bred varieties. To get a harvest from early summer through fall, start sowing lettuce in mid-spring and continue sowing at two-week intervals until mid-summer. This will ensure a stable lettuce harvest from early summer to mid-autumn.

For autumn harvests, select frost-resistant varieties. Plant them in open ground no later than the first week of August. In early autumn, when the plants are stronger, transplant them into a greenhouse.
If you do not transplant the plants into a greenhouse, you should thin them out and cover them in early autumn. While it is sunny and warm outside, the shelter is removed and closed at night. The lettuce will produce a harvest in late autumn.

When lettuce is grown in a greenhouse, the seeds are sown in early to mid-autumn, and the harvest is harvested in winter and until spring.

Growing lettuce for cultural purposes has been carried out since the 18th century. The French began to use the plant in cooking. They added the greens to a salad called Lettuce. Since then, the plant itself has often been called this way.

Not only cooks, but also doctors are interested in it. It has been proven that the leaves of the plant help fight blood leukemia and increase resistance to breast cancer.

In the brain, lettuce extract prevents the death of neurons, and consequently, Alzheimer's disease. The ability of lettuce to lower cholesterol levels was tested in mice. Doctors extract lactucarium from the stems of the plant, an antimicrobial and antifungal agent.

A vitamin cocktail in lettuce benefits the skin, restoring a healthy complexion and accelerating cell regeneration. Lettuce juice contains almost 15% sulfur, 9% phosphorus and 8% silicon.

This is ideal hair nutrition. They grow faster, stop falling out, and shine. At the same time, you don’t have to go far for lettuce. Let's organize growing lettuce on a windowsill, in a greenhouse, garden.

When to plant lettuce?

The timing of planting lettuce depends on its type. It can be leafy or cabbage-shaped. The French began cultivating the first one in the greenhouses of Paris back in 1700. Growing head lettuce started in 1812. The varieties were the result of selection.

Growing lettuce starts at the end of April. Headed varieties are planted in the second half of March. This is when sowing in open ground. Some gardeners place seeds there in the fall.

This hardens the grains. As a result, they produce rich and strong growth that is resistant to disease and frost. Young plants can withstand temperatures down to -4 degrees, and adults up to -8 degrees.

Podzimnie lettuce growing conditions benefit him if a number of conditions are met. The beds for planting are thoroughly loosened and freed from weeds and their roots. In spring, the sun will warm up loose and clean soil faster. It is worth adding humus and ash into it - a nutrient medium for seeds.

If the site is in a lowland, winter growing lettuce from seeds or seedlings does not make sense. The culture requires full sunlight. Even in flat areas, the most elevated beds are allocated for lettuce.

They are sown in the second half of November and early December. The grains are placed in already frozen furrows 5 centimeters deep. Cover the seeds with soil from home storage.

Lettuce seeds in the photo

When talking about the rich and strong shoots of winter lettuce, the cost of seed material is rarely mentioned. It is necessary to lay it in the soil 30% more than usual.

Some seeds do not withstand hardening. If the seedlings turn out to be dense, they are simply thinned out. Initially, winter sowing is carried out without leaving gaps between the lettuce grains.

Growing lettuce seedlings start at the beginning of March. It takes 30-40 days to germinate and prepare for planting in the garden. This is for early ripening varieties. For mid-season varieties, the growing season lasts about 60 days.

There is also a late-ripening lettuce whose crisp leaves are enjoyed in midsummer. You can grow further batches of lettuce at the same time. Each subsequent one is planted a month after the previous one. The last planting of seeds is scheduled for the end of August.

Growing lettuce in a greenhouse moves the last sowing to the end of September. Fresh herbs will arrive on the table on the eve of November. The main thing is not to overcook the lettuce. It's not even about the coming frosts.

With a long growing season, lettuce leaves become bitter. Therefore, they eat young greens. Lettuce, in principle, is an annual plant, designed for one cycle. The hero of the article is reminiscent of radishes with a tendency towards bitterness. By the way, it and dill are planted at the same time as lettuce.

How to plant lettuce?

There was talk about planting winter lettuce. Now, let's deal with spring sowing. As with wintering, the beds are loosened. To prevent the seeds from falling into tartar, the soil is given a couple of days to settle.

Growing lettuce in open ground at the end of April requires pouring boiling water on the prepared furrows. The soil is not yet completely warmed up. Realizing this, gardeners deepen the seeds only 0.5-1 centimeter.

Growing lettuce in the country compact. The plant is miniature. Leave 20-25 centimeters between rows, and about 10 centimeters between bushes. This is when planting cabbage varieties. Leaf rosettes are spreading.

Leave about 20 centimeters between them. Respectively, lettuce growing technology leafy requires rare planting of seeds. This also applies to their winter laying in the soil.

They resort to a nesting pattern, deliberately placing 2-3 seeds every 15 centimeters. When all 3 grains sprout at the same time, weak sprouts are cut off below the cotyledon leaves. This blocks the development of lettuce.

The furrows with seeds are sprinkled with sand. Loose soil will also do. Shoots are expected in 2-3 days. Germination may be delayed in areas where lettuce was already growing. It is returned to its original place after 2-3 years.

The soil must be restored and accumulate the substances necessary for the salad. It is better to plant the crop in beds of cabbage, radishes and radishes. Land from other vegetables will also be suitable.

If you plant lettuce not instead of, but next to radishes, radishes and cabbage, the greens will protect them from flea beetles. These insects do not like the smell of lettuce. He himself is being pestered by aphids. Therefore, we plant onions nearby. Its smell repels aphids from lettuce.

Among the salad's neighbors are strawberries, peas, beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers. We move tall crops further away so as not to shade the lettuce. By the way, its cabbage varieties are prone to the accumulation of nitrates.

Their effect on the body began to be studied in 1945 in connection with methemoglobinia. This is a disease in which the hemoglobin in the blood loses its ability to carry oxygen.

The body naturally begins to starve of oxygen. One of the proven causes of the disease is receiving toxic doses of nitrates. In general, there is no benefit to them and there is no point in feeding head lettuce with nitrogen-containing fertilizers or planting it in a nitrogen-rich bed with compost.

Lettuce loves moisture. Taking this into account, the crop is grown without soil at all using hydroponics. This is what industrialists use. There are benefits to saturating your salad with a nutrient solution.

Plants are arranged in several tiers, effectively using space. The grass does not have to waste energy fishing microelements from the soil. It is no secret that herbs absorb fertilizers only in dissolved form.

So, growing lettuce hydroponically gives the harvest faster by at least a week. Sometimes, lettuce grows in just 20 days. Accordingly, sales increase.

There are no problems with sales, because taste qualities salads remain at their best. Farmers dissolve in the water feeding the roots exactly as many elements as the plant needs during a certain period of development.

What varieties of lettuce should I grow?

By “Lettuce” we mean the usual salad. It looked like this in the 18th century. Soft green leaves with a white core and curly edges. Curlyness is brought to its apogee in Lollo Rossa.

This is a loose-headed variety of lettuce. Its airiness is due to the curves of the greenery. Its definition loses its meaning, because often it is not green at all, but red, violet.

Lollo Rossa varieties are decorative and are often chosen for growing lettuce at home. “Rossa” is also a favorite of restaurateurs.

They decorate dishes, not window sills, with curly and colorful leaves. The growing season of the group's varieties takes no more than 45 days. The foliage of Lollo Rossa is tender and crisp.

Pictured is Lollo Rossa salad

The Romano group varieties were developed by the Romans. Hence the name of the species. In Rome, it was eaten separately, not added to other dishes. Romano still beats other salads in popularity in Italy and other Mediterranean countries.

Conventionally, the varieties of the species are classified as cabbage, but are quite loose. Therefore, the concept of “half-headed lettuce” comes up. It is considered a subspecies of "Lettuce". The foliage of the varieties is juicy, crisp, pale green.

The photo shows romaine lettuce

The leaves of “Iceberg” are almost whitish. The group includes head lettuces. They resemble a small, loose white cabbage. One plant weighs about 400 grams, differing from other types by its increased crunchiness.

Initially, “Iceberg” was called “Crispy Salad”. Afterwards, the Americans who developed the group’s varieties noticed that the greens were stored longer next to ice. This was the reason to call the salad “Ice”.

The next step was the name "Iceberg". The species' love for coolness corresponds to it. At the height of summer growing lettuce "Iceberg"- a lost cause. Group varieties are planted late autumn, in early spring or in winter.

Iceberg lettuce"

Oakleaf lettuce resembles oak foliage. This is reflected in the view name. Oak is translated from English as “oak”, and leaf as “leaf”. Externally, the plant resembles a loose head of cabbage, like Romano.

“Oakleaf” stands out for its special tenderness of taste, oiliness and minimal shelf life. It is advisable to eat varieties of this species directly from the garden, after washing them, of course. When moving, storing and mixing dishes with Oakleaf, do not use metal objects. They oxidize delicate sheets and they deteriorate even faster.

Oakleaf salad

Frisse salad stands out due to its cultivation characteristics. At the first stages of development, the varieties of the group do not need light. This allows plants to produce intibin, a substance that increases the number of red blood cells.

It is not surprising that of all the salads, Frisse is recommended for people with low hemoglobin and anemia. It belongs to the indium class. Unlike lettuce, it is a genus of chicory. That is, “Frisse” has a powerful rhizome hidden underground.

Pictured is frisse salad

It is for this reason that ordinary chicory is used. It, like “Lettuce,” belongs to the Asteraceae family. Growing endive lettuce gives a bitter taste. It is also found in the roots of the plant. The taste is familiar from cocoa substitutes. They are made from ground chicory roots.

Chicory cocoa has a nutty flavor. It is also typical for the group’s salads. It also includes “Korn”. This salad has small leaves that fold into roses.

They are stored in the refrigerator for about 3 days. In dishes, “Korn” is combined only with balsamic oil or olive oil. Russians, accustomed to sunflowers, rarely consume varieties of this group.

Pictured is corn salad

“Rucola” is also a chicory salad. We are expecting the same bitter-nutty taste. The long and narrow projections of the foliage of varieties of the species are somewhat reminiscent of rosemary. In Russia, “Rukola” was nicknamed “Wild Mustard”. Of the lettuces, only she has two-year-old varieties. Plus, “Rugola” is tall. Some ortas reach 70 centimeters in height.

Pictured is arugula salad

Let’s complete the list of salad types with a couple more endive ones. The first one is “Radicchio”. It's burgundy. The core of the leaves is white. The varieties of the group are heady, dense and crunchy. Like Frisse, Radicio is grown in the dark.

This is what determines the color of the lettuce leaves. Photosynthesis in twilight is difficult. The bitter taste of Radicchio changes to sweet and spicy if the leaves are boiled. Other salads are consumed only fresh.

Radicchio salad

The last view of the hero of the article - "Cress". Growing lettuce pleases the eye with heart-shaped leaves. They are miniature and abundantly cover the stems of the plant. Varieties of the group are considered aphrodisiacs. The ability of Cress salad to improve potency was first noticed in Morocco and Iran.

Taking into account the characteristics of the types of salad, we choose according to our requests and needs. It is worth noting that dark-leaved herbs contain more useful nutrients, for example, folic acid and vitamin A.

Pictured is watercress salad

Lettuce care

Lettuce growing in winter, transfers in spring, summer and autumn with equal success. The main thing is to give the plant a loose substrate, watering once every 1-2 days and plenty of light. During short days, use solar lamps.

Otherwise, the culture is unpretentious. The nuances of caring for individual varieties and species were discussed above. Finally, let us remind you that lettuce is the only vegetable that cannot be frozen or preserved in any way.

That is why year-round cultivation of the crop at home or in greenhouses is justified. For salad from stores you will have to pay at least 200 rubles per kilogram.

Leaf lettuce is extremely popular all over the world. garden culture. This is one of the few types of food that have minimal calorie content. In addition, it is also very tasty, and also contains many vitamins and microelements. The unpretentiousness of lettuce allows it to be grown throughout the entire gardening season, and even in winter in a greenhouse or just on a windowsill.

This culture became widespread in France in the 18th century. There it was added to a dish called “Lettuce,” which is what they later called it.

Today, this plant can be found in Russia at almost any dacha or personal plot. However, not all gardeners are ready to boast of good harvests. The thing is that they often grow it incorrectly.

From this article you will learn how to plant leaf lettuce directly in open ground on your site.

When to plant lettuce

Each variety chosen for cultivation in the country has its own ideal planting time. So leafy species should be sown in last days April, while cabbage earlier - approximately in the second or third ten days of March.

Meanwhile, it is not forbidden to sow lettuce in the fall. This method allows you to thoroughly harden the material. Plants grown from it:

• larger than usual;
• resistant to pests and diseases;
• survive frosts calmly (young ones up to 4 degrees below zero, adults up to 8 degrees).

Winter planting method

It’s worth mentioning right away - this option not suitable for those areas located in lowlands, because loves salad sunlight. A place on a hill devoid of shade is selected for it.

Suitable bed:

• dig up;
• free from weeds and roots;
• enriched with humus (per square meter, take a bucket of it and mix it with a glass of ash).

The prepared soil is left until November. It is best to plant lettuce after the first frost.

At the right time, make rows in the soil up to 5 centimeters deep. The seeds are distributed in a thin line (they use a third more than in the spring) and covered with soil brought from a warm house. Shoots that are too dense must be thinned out in the spring.

In regions where you have to wait a long time for warmth, lettuce is not planted with seeds - it makes sense to plant it on the ground in the form of seedlings. In this case, germination of seeds of early varieties begins a month and a half before planting on the site. For later ones – 60 days before.

Spring sowing

The land is prepared in exactly the same way as we wrote about above. You can use holes instead of furrows. They are left for several days to allow the soil to settle. Only after this the seed material is laid.

If planting is done before the third ten days of April, the rows must be watered with boiling water, since by this time the ground is still very cold. The sowing depth is minimal, no more than 1.5 centimeters. A gap of 25 centimeters is left between the rows.

Headed varieties are planted exclusively in holes with an interval of 10 centimeters; for leaf varieties it (after thinning) is 20.

Up to 4 grains are placed in each hole. Of those that have sprouted, only the strongest are left. Stunted shoots are simply cut off along with the cotyledon leaves - such a plant will not grow in the future.

Cover the seeds with sand or just light loose soil. Under favorable circumstances, seedlings appear within three days. If the lettuce was planted in the same place as last year, you will have to wait longer for this moment. If possible, try to alternate crops - let the soil rest for at least 2 years.

Lettuce beds need to be watered more often, about once every 2-3 days. Moreover, the volume of liquid should be used small each time - the main thing is that the soil always maintains moderate moisture.

Varieties

The following varieties grow best:

• Roundhead;
• Iceberg;
• Romain;
• Kucheryavets.

These early types of salad are very popular now in Russia:

• Lollo Rossa;
• Firebird;
• Kitezh;
• Gourmand.

The best mid-season varieties are:

• Emerald;
• Arugula;
• Watercress.

Care

To get a good harvest, lettuce is planted in the soil:

• fertile;
• zero acidity;
• permeable to air.

The plant feels great in the area where it previously grew:

• cucumbers;
• cabbage.

During the growing season, lettuce actively takes nutrients from the soil, and therefore it should be fed. The fact that the plant is “starving” is indicated by slow growth and yellowness on the leaves.

Fertilizers are applied to the soil in liquid form. Since lettuce roots grow almost to the surface, this method is the most appropriate. In general, this leafy vegetable belongs to the rapidly developing species. It very actively pumps out useful substances from the soil. In particular, he needs twice as many of them as:

• carrots;
• cabbage;
• beets

However, those who give lettuce a lot of fertilizer in one go are mistaken. It is better to organize moderate but frequent feeding. The ideal option is to combine it with watering.

In particular, approximately 14-16 days after the first leaves appear, the salad is given a solution of ammonium nitrate or urea at the rate of 15 grams per bucket of water. Do not exceed the specified dosage, since excess nitrogen has a depressing effect on the plant.

The crop also needs phosphorus - it is added to the soil in the fall before it is time to plant the vegetable, directly during the digging process. Ammophos is added up to 15 grams per square meter. Abuse of mineral supplements leads to the accumulation of nitrates in lettuce.

Any type of salad is suitable for growing lettuce. climatic conditions. It is important that the place for sowing lettuce is sunny (otherwise nitrates will accumulate in the leaves_ and the soil should be loosened to greater depth. When growing in early spring, only early varieties of lettuce should be used; when growing later, summer varieties should be used.

Lettuce varieties with photos and descriptions, reviews

Iceberg lettuce, characteristics

New productive variety of crispy head lettuce. From the moment of germination to technical ripeness, 75-90 days pass. This variety is intended for cultivation in spring and summer. Resistant to shooting.

The heads of lettuce are large, dense, weighing 300-600 grams. The leaves are corrugated, with wavy edges, juicy, bubbly, crispy, and retain freshness for a long time. The taste qualities of the variety are high.

Lettuce Sandwich

Excellent variety of lettuce early date maturation. Grown in open and protected ground. Lettuce leaves are light green, tender, crispy, with a high content of vitamins and mineral salts.

Leaf lettuce Sandwich is ideal for fresh consumption, making sandwiches, salads, and decorating dishes.

Eurydice salad

Mid-season, half-headed lettuce variety. It is grown in open ground and film greenhouses.

The rosette of leaves is medium-sized, semi-raised, compact, about 35 cm high, about 33 cm in diameter. The leaf is large, dark green, bubbly, with a wavy edge, crispy consistency. It has excellent taste.

Weight (average weight) of an adult plant is 450 grams.

Firebird lettuce

An early ripening variety of lettuce, the harvest of which can be harvested within 45-50 days from the moment of germination. The plant forms large rosettes of intense ruby ​​red color, with delicate, crispy leaves. Firebird lettuce leaves contain an increased amount of vitamins and mineral salts.

This lettuce variety is suitable for year-round cultivation in open and protected ground throughout Russia.

Advantages of the variety: color resistance, fast growth at any length of the day, excellent taste.

Salad Odessa curly

Mid-season (68-75 days from germination to harvest) variety of semi-headed type. The plant forms a loose rosette average size, with a diameter of 24-32 cm, weighing up to 200 grams. The leaf is fan-shaped with a corrugated edge, crispy consistency, with excellent taste.

Odessa curlytail is grown in open ground and film shelters. For continuous harvesting from June to autumn, sowing in open ground is carried out from April to August. Seed placement depth is 1-2 cm.

Lettuce seeds are sown for seedlings in March–April, and plants are planted in May–June.

Lettuce yield: 2.7-5.0 kg/sq.m. The variety is resistant to flowering.

Grand leaf lettuce

An early ripening variety of lettuce. It takes 45 days from germination to harvest. The plant produces a large, juicy leaf of light green color with pronounced curling.

The Grand variety is distinguished by high uniformity of rosettes.

Advantages of the variety: resistant to discoloration, marginal burns and necrosis.

Salad Crunchy Vitamin

Mid-early variety of leaf lettuce. From germination to ripeness it takes 38-45 days. The plant is compact, about 15-18 cm in diameter, with green, crispy leaves (laced along the edges).

The Crispy Vitamin lettuce variety contains many vitamins and healthy acids. It is recommended to sow several times during the season. Advantages of the variety: high yield, crispy leaf texture, long shelf life, resistance to stemming and low light.

Leaf salad Kitezh

An early ripening variety of lettuce. Forms an erect rosette 20-25 cm high and about 25 cm in diameter. The leaves are medium-sized, oblong, reddish with a strong anthocyanin color, slightly bubbly, wavy along the edge, with cuts in the apical part. The consistency of the leaves is oily. The taste is excellent.

Productivity Kitezh lettuce - 2.5 kg/sq.m.

Royal leaf lettuce

High-yielding early-ripening lettuce variety. Forms large rosettes of corrugated leaves, light in the center and dark green at the edges.

It is characterized by a long period of consumer suitability, does not bolt, and is very decorative. It is recommended to grow in open and protected ground.

Salad Gourmand

An early ripening variety of lettuce. The period from germination to harvesting is 40-45 days. The leaves are yellow-green, slightly wrinkled, with a wavy edge. Average weight one plant up to 200 grams.

The Lakomka lettuce variety is intended for growing in open and protected ground. In open ground, sowing from late April to mid-July. In unheated film greenhouses, sowing/planting occurs in the 3rd decade of April - 1st decade of May.

Planting scheme: 20x20 cm.

Salad Lolo Biendo

An early ripening variety of lettuce. From the moment of germination to technical ripeness, 40-45 days pass. The leaves are yellow-green, curly, aromatic, juicy and crisp. The rosette is compact, round in shape, weighing 200-300 grams. The leaves are curly, aromatic, juicy and crispy, yellow-green in color, delicate in taste, form a compact round rosette.

The average weight of one socket is 200-300 grams. The variety is suitable for year-round cultivation in open ground and greenhouses.

Salad Lollo Sun

An early-ripening, high-yielding variety of lettuce. The period from germination to ripeness is 40-45 days. The leaves are green, very decorative, corrugated. The rosette head is loose, 15-20 cm in diameter.

The variety is resistant to bolting.

Salad Lollo Rossa

The most popular variety of lettuce. The period from germination to technical ripeness is 40-55 days. The plant is tall, erect, 15-20 cm in diameter. The leaves are tender, wrinkled, curly, light green in color with a wide reddish-pink edge.

Advantages of the variety: good taste, resistance to bolting, decorative. Lollo Rossa lettuce is often used to decorate flower beds.

Yeralash leaf salad, characteristics

Mid-season high-yielding variety of lettuce. The average weight of one plant is 150-200 grams.

Advantages of the variety: resistance to edge leaf burn, high taste.

Moscow greenhouse salad

An early ripening variety of lettuce. From germination to harvest it takes only 35 days. The leaves are pale green, tender, juicy, with excellent taste.

The Moscow Greenhouse lettuce variety is ideal for fresh consumption, making sandwiches, salads, and decorating dishes.

Head lettuce Kolobok

A new late-ripening head lettuce variety. From germination to technical ripeness it takes from 55 to 75 days.

Grown in open ground and film shelters. The heads of cabbage are large, weighing up to 600 g. The leaves are red with white veins, very juicy, with a piquant taste.

Fresh heads of cabbage are rich in vitamins and minerals and are recommended for making salads.

Obzhorka salad, photo and description

An early ripening variety of curly leaf lettuce. It takes 40-42 days from germination to technical ripeness.

The plant forms a raised rosette with a diameter of 25-28 cm, the leaves are reddish, large, heavily wrinkled, juicy and tender. Socket weight up to 160 grams.

Leaf salad Mischief

An early ripening variety of lettuce. The period from germination to technical ripeness is 39-43 days. A rosette of green, bubbly leaves with strongly wavy edges.

The average weight of one socket is 150-160 grams. The consistency of the leaves is crispy.

Robin lettuce

Late-ripening variety of leaf lettuce. The ripening period is 50 days. Recommended for growing in various climatic zones, in open ground and winter greenhouses.

The variety is resistant to flowering.

Leaf salad "Fairy Tale"

An early ripening variety of lettuce. The ripening period is 46-49 days. The rosette of leaves is large, weighing up to 250 grams.

Advantages of the variety: resistant to bolting, fast growth at any day length.

Typhoon Salad

A new mid-season variety of lettuce. The leaf is large, green, slightly bubbly, wavy along the edge, with a crisp tissue texture, juicy and delicate in taste.

Advantages of the variety: resistant to flowering, fast growth at any day length.

Truffle Salad

Mid-early variety of lettuce. The leaves are tender, crispy, corrugated, and due to their reddish-burgundy edge they look very impressive and are indispensable for decorating dishes.

The Truffle lettuce variety is suitable for year-round cultivation in open ground and winter greenhouses.

Lettuce Season of Miracles

An excellent early ripening variety of lettuce. The plant forms a large rosette, 25 cm high and 25-40 cm in diameter. The weight of one rosette is about 150 g.

The leaf is medium in size, dark red, wavy along the edge, juicy, curly, bubbly, crispy in texture. The taste of fresh leaves is excellent and delicate.

Multivitamin Salad Mix

A wonderful mixture of fast-growing lettuces, with a growing season of 40-45 days.

Plants form large rosettes of exclusively decorative leaves. The leaves are tender, crispy, juicy, with good taste.

The mixture is suitable for year-round cultivation in open and protected ground.

What types of salad do you think are the most delicious? What varieties of lettuce without bitterness and with tender leaves would you recommend our readers plant?

Your feedback on lettuce varieties and additions will help many gardeners choose what to plant the best varieties green, red, leaf and head lettuce.

If possible, attach a photo of the lettuce you grew to your reviews. Thank you!

Many housewives think about how to grow lettuce on a windowsill. And this is not surprising, because then there will be fresh greens on the table even in winter. It is added to various dishes, salads and decorated sandwiches. But before you begin the process, you need to decide on the plant variety, as well as learn all the nuances of growing lettuce.

Salad on the windowsill. Growing and care

How to plant lettuce

It is not difficult to grow leaf lettuce on a windowsill. It grows well all year, especially with normal watering and good lighting. The plant is quite tolerant to low temperatures, but does not tolerate heat well. It is best to plant lettuce in the spring, as there is no need for additional lighting. Leaf lettuce on the windowsill in winter needs to be illuminated with electric lamps for several hours.

To set up a mini-garden at home you will need:

• pots or other containers for planting lettuce;
• required amount of soil;
• polyethylene for creating a greenhouse;
• watering can and spray bottle;
• fertilizer;
• lamps to create additional lighting.

All this is needed to grow greens at home. But simply purchasing the necessary equipment in the appropriate store is not enough; you should know the secrets of planting and caring for this useful plant.

How to grow lettuce on a windowsill:

It is necessary to take a responsible approach to the composition of the soil. An excellent substrate is made from 2 parts coconut fiber and 1 part vermicompost. You can also plant lettuce in soil that consists of garden soil, peat, rotted manure and compost soil. All soil components are taken in approximately the same quantities. To quickly grow leaf lettuce, you can enrich the soil with ash, urea or nitrophoska. Many people prefer special soil from their respective stores.

How to grow lettuce on a windowsill. Photo

It is necessary to use as a container for planting large pots, at least 1-2 liters in volume. The fact is that lettuce does not tolerate transplantation well, so it is better to immediately sow it in a suitable container. As for the material, you need to choose a plastic pot. A clay container tends to absorb moisture, which causes the soil to dry out faster.

If another plant previously grew in the pot, it must be thoroughly cleaned. Otherwise, remaining pest eggs and bacteria will destroy the salad over time. Therefore, the container should be washed with soapy water.

The next step is preparation drainage This is necessary to avoid stagnation of moisture and rotting of the plant roots. Expanded clay, silicone or synthetic winterizer are suitable as drainage for salad. The moisture-absorbing layer must be placed at the very bottom of the container in which the salad will grow. These materials quickly absorb all excess moisture and evaporate it, humidifying the air.

The soil needs to be poured into the pot to the very top, leaving only about 2-3 cm.

Before planting, lettuce seeds must be soaked in potassium permanganate for 1-2 hours. The soil in the pot should be slightly wetted and small depressions should be made. The salad does not need to be sown at a very deep depth, 1 cm is enough. After this, cellophane is placed on top of the container, which is removed when the first sprouts appear.

Growing lettuce on a windowsill. Photo

It is important to ensure that temperature air did not exceed 20 °C. Therefore, during the heating season, it is better not to place it close to the radiator or other room heating devices. The plant should also be frequently water, especially in summer. Leaves from time to time should spray using a spray bottle. Salad loves this “bathing” very much.

Lettuce in a pot can be eaten after 3-5 weeks. After another week, the plant becomes unusable, sending out arrows. In this case, it should be removed and fresh lettuce sown.

Questions and answers

What to do if small lettuce sprouts begin to stretch out and then quickly wither? Abundant watering does not help, nor does additional lighting for 2 hours.

It is necessary to water lettuce in a pot when upper layer the soil begins to dry out. In winter there is very little light for the plant, because there is practically no sun. Therefore, additional light should be left on all day. For this, fluorescent lamps are most often used.

How many seeds are required for a 1.5 liter pot? And how dense should the sowing be?

This container will require 20-30 seeds. They need to be sown very thickly. When sprouts appear, thin the lettuce several times, removing weak and crooked ones. As a result, during the formation of rosettes, 5-6 full-fledged sprouts should remain. During thinning, you can transplant excess healthy shoots into other containers.

Secrets of growing lettuce

Growing lettuce on the windowsill is not difficult, but if you take a few tips into account, you will always have juicy greens. It’s not enough to just sow the seeds and wait for the results. Only by creating the right conditions for lettuce, you can hope it will grow. So, to quickly grow lettuce you need:

A lot of light. This crop will not grow in the shade. In addition, lack of light provokes the formation of flower stalks. Experienced gardeners choose certain varieties to grow this greenery on the windowsill. Therefore, for home breeding, it is recommended to purchase lettuce varieties Lollo Bionda, Emerald Lace or New Year's.

To provide additional lighting and save money, you can use LED lamps. They practically do not emit heat and therefore will not dry out the plant. The distance between the light source and the salad should not exceed 6-8 cm.

To not allow excessive heat and drought soil. Otherwise, the salad will immediately begin to disappear - the leaves will become coarse and acquire a bitter taste. It is especially often necessary to water the lettuce during the period of active growth. To do this, you need a watering can with a thin spout. Water must be settled, especially if it is tap water. An excellent option would be to spray the lettuce leaves. It must be carried out daily until the plant is completely strong.

Check soil condition under the film. The greenhouse effect is necessary for the plant to sprout. For salad it is usually 4-5 days. But from time to time you need to look into the greenhouse and water the soil. As soon as the first shoots appear, the cellophane can be removed and the salad can be placed in the sun.

Often thin out the seedlings. It's best to do this several times. 5-7 days after the emergence of seedlings, they need to be thinned out, leaving a distance of 1-2 cm. The second time the lettuce is thinned out when several leaves appear. The distance between plants should not be less than 4-5 cm. If the lettuce is left in cramped conditions, it will begin to grow upward, and then weaken and disappear.

For full growth salad needs it fertilize. It must be a complex composition. Instead of chemicals, many also use regular mullein. It should be diluted with liquid in a ratio of 1:10. The resulting solution is watered over the salad no more than once a week.

Destroy harmful insects. Even at home, lettuce is attacked by various pests. Most often these are salad aphids that eat the roots of the plant. As a result, the lettuce quickly stops growing and subsequently withers. Therefore, if soil from the garden is used when planting lettuce, it must be pre-treated. If aphids have already infested, you should use an infusion of onion peels or dandelion leaves. It is better not to use chemicals.

Growing head lettuce is even more difficult than growing leaf lettuce. Therefore, it is better to gain experience first. Not many people manage to grow leaf lettuce to full size, but at home this is not necessary.

Picked lettuce does not last long, only about a week. But it cannot be stored at room temperature at all. You can put the salad in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. However, it should not be washed in advance, as the greens will wither even faster. So it’s best to eat greens right away. And so that it is always available, you can plant lettuce at intervals of 5-7 days. Then you won’t have to wait long for the harvest.