Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) takes up little space and can be edible within a week of planting. However, overcrowding lettuce or planting it in areas with little light can lower your crop yield. There are a few tips to know to grow lettuce in the garden or indoors so as not to waste your time, effort and money.
Can you plant lettuce close together?
Generally, you should space plants far enough apart so that they can grow to full size. However, many gardeners plant lettuce much closer together, preferring to harvest leaves continuously before they reach full size. The plants adapt to their spacing.
What happens if you plant too close together?
The Dangers Of Planting Too Close Together
If you plant flowers too close together, the plants get stressed and are prone to diseases, Kole says. If air can’t properly circulate and the plants can’t dry out between waterings, fungus sets in. Roots can rot. And once plants are weakened from stress, insects move in.
How close can lettuce plants be?
Space your rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Thin leaf lettuce seedlings to 4 inches apart. Romaine and butterhead lettuce seedlings require 6 to 8 inches between each plant. Removed seedlings can be transplanted or eaten as delicious, tender microgreens.
What to do if seedlings are too close together?
Give each little plant its space (check seed packages for spacing suggestions). If plants such as carrots are too close and tangled to remove by plucking, use scissors. Tweezers can be handy for those particularly delicate jobs. And don’t just thin once.
What should you not plant beside lettuce?
Try to avoid growing lettuce next to broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, or kohlrabi—while some varieties of lettuce may help these cabbage-family (brassicas) crops to grow, these plants have particular root secretions that can prevent lettuce seeds from germinating.
Can you overcrowd a garden?
Mostly, an overcrowded garden will not thrive, as the plants will compete for water, nutrients, and space. However, there are some situations in which overcrowding, or more eloquently put, intensive planting, is a good idea.
Can you overcrowd a planter?
Don’t overcrowd your containers. Those small young plants can grow rapidly during the growing season, so consider mature size when designing a container. In small containers, plant growth might be stunted because root systems don’t have enough room to fully develop.
What happens if you don’t thin lettuce seedlings?
When left un-thinned, seedlings that are in tight quarters will compete with one another for nutrients, water, air, and root space. Those are not things you want to deprive your seedlings of! In addition to concerns about competition, crowding seedlings also increases the risk for disease.
How close can you plant iceberg lettuce?
16 inches apart
Loose-leaf lettuce: Plant or thin to 4 inches apart. Romaine (cos) and butterhead (loose-head, Bibb, Boston) lettuce: Plant or thin to 8 inches apart. Crisphead (iceberg) lettuce: Plant or thin to 16 inches apart.
How often should lettuce be watered?
Lettuce has shallow roots, so plants need consistent watering. Check at least twice a week and water if the soil is dry down to 1 inch deep. Containers of lettuce need to be watered more frequently than garden beds, especially in the summer.
How long does it take for lettuce to grow?
Most lettuce varieties mature in 45 to 55 days, allowing many gardeners to plant two or even three crops. But looseleaf and butterhead leaves can be harvested at just about any time in their development. Heading varieties take longer to mature. Romaine takes 75 to 85 days and crisphead 70 to 100 days.
How can you tell if a plant is overcrowded?
Weak flowering and fruiting occur because of a lack of sunlight, moisture, air circulation and nutrients in a crowded garden bed. Plants expend energy reaching for sunlight instead of using it to produce flower buds. If a crowded plant does flower, the blooms may be small or sparse.
Why would it be a disadvantage if plants grow too close together?
Plants also can affect how nearby companions grow, as roots tangle and compete for the same resources of water and nutrients in the soil. Planting too close together limits the growth potential and often threatens plant health.
How do you fix overcrowded plants?
You can use a technique called thinning, which involves removing certain plants or parts of plants to fuel the growth of their neighbors. We recommend thinning by trimming the stems of the weakest seedlings to allow the stronger ones to develop.
Do tomatoes and lettuce grow well together?
Lettuce is a great companion because it’s a good use of space. You can fill in the space between tomato plants with lettuce, and the tomato plants can help shade the lettuce from the hot summer sun.
Can lettuce and cucumbers be planted together?
Cucumber – Plant beside asparagus, beans, Brassicas, celery, corn, dill, kohlrabi, lettuce, onion, peas, radish, and tomatoes. Avoid planting near potatoes and sage. Both corn and sunflowers can act as a trellis for cucumbers to good effect.
What grows well next to lettuce?
Lettuce benefits from having most vegetables near it. Chives and garlic, in particular, are good neighbors because they naturally repel aphids, a common problem for lettuce. Similarly marigolds, one of the big powerhouses of pest repellers, can be planted near lettuce to help keep the bugs away.
What is the best fertilizer for lettuce?
Feed lettuce plants every two weeks with a balanced water soluble or granular fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 or a 5-5-5, diluted to half strength. Look for a fertilizer in which the three numbers separated by hyphens are equal or almost equal.
Can you over water lettuce?
If you part the soil to observe the roots and they look brown or black, or feel mushy, you are probably overwatering your lettuce. Lettuce can be overwatered. Overwatering lettuce plants leads to root rot and discoloration. Avoid watering during rainy seasons.
What happens if many seedlings are grown together?
If the seeds are sown close to each other, the resulting plants on growing will not get sufficient sunlight, nutrients and water from the soil. Hence some or all of the plants will show weak growth.
Justin Shelton is a professional cook. He’s been in the industry for over 10 years, and he loves nothing more than creating delicious dishes for others to enjoy. Justin has worked in some of the best kitchens in the country, and he’s always looking for new challenges and ways to improve his craft. When he’s not cooking, Justin enjoys spending time with his wife and son. He loves exploring new restaurants and trying out different cuisines.