#1 week lettuce seedlings how to

Head lettuce is usually grown from seeds started indoors during warm weather for a fall garden. Removed seedlings can be transplanted or eaten as delicious, tender microgreens.

Romaine and butterhead lettuce seedlings require 6 to 8 inches between each plant. So get out those seed catalogs and make your selections. Thin leaf lettuce seedlings to 4 inches apart. Oreilles du diable (devil’s ears) adds muted tones to the salad bowl. You can check out these, and many more, at Fedco Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange.Ĭracoviensis, a French heirloom, has been a reliable producer in my garden.įorellenschluss, speckled romaine, is a colorful and popular Austrian heirloom.įor the deep red color, it’s hard to beat Merlot.īright green and yummy, Strela anchors the salade palette. A week or two after that, weather permitting, I set them outside where they are sheltered from the wind so they can acclimate to real-world conditions.īelow you’ll see some of my favorite varieties. When the seedlings have a set or two of true leaves, I transplant them into individual cups, which I’ve filled with garden soil. The first leaves, visible here, are the cotyledons and look pretty much the same from variety to variety. When seedlings sprout, remove the bags and bathe them in light. After four or five days, check daily to see if the seeds have sprouted. The plastic bags retain moisture, and a nearby woodstove provides some heat. When sprouts appear, I remove the plastic and put the containers under fluorescent lights. In southwestern Connecticut, where I live, I plant the seeds by mid-March, and usually, they sprout in 7 to 10 days. Lettuce bolts more readily if exposed to temperatures below 50 degrees F during the 2- to 3-leaf stage (the first three weeks after germination). I Fill a container with potting soil, sprinkle some seeds on top, add a little more potting soil, water, and enclose it in a plastic bag to form a mini-greenhouse. In mid summer, use of transplants, perhaps started in a cooler basement, is almost. Harden seedlings by reducing water and temperature for 3 days before transplanting. Finally, lettuce germinates poorly when temperatures are above 80-85 degrees. Sowing the seeds is the essence of simplicity. Sow in 1-inch cells 3 to 4 weeks before transplanting outside.

#1 week lettuce seedlings how to

It gives me a head start on the season, it allows me to arrange them somewhat artfully in their beds, and maybe best of all, I can share them with friends and co-workers. How to sow lettuce seed: Drop a small amount of lettuce seeds into one hand, then pinch the seed between your forefinger and thumb of the other hand. I like to start my lettuce indoors, even though it’s not necessary. And here’s good news: the “exotic” varieties are a lot easier to grow and much more nutritious and colorful than that old standby, iceberg.

There are countless lettuces to choose from.