Author: Justin Shelton

To harvest high-quality salad greens almost every month of the year, you need to maintain a ready supply of young transplants. The only way to do it is to sow a pinch or two of seeds every week, either indoors or out. Start seeds indoors when it’s either too cold or too hot outdoors. How […]

While lettuce is susceptible to many issues, they’re usually not life-threatening to the plant. Bacterial Leaf Spot. If you find your lettuce starts to develop brown or black spots on the leaves and then dies off or they struggle, you probably have bacterial leaf spot. Damping Off. Fusarium Wilt. Rust. Why is my lettuce dying? […]

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 […]

Green leaf lettuce may look like romaine, but it’s actually not the same. It does, however, make a great substitute for romaine, and like romaine and iceberg, green leafy lettuce is a member of the asteraceae family. Green leaf lettuce is soft and tender with a very mild flavor. Is green leaf lettuce same as […]

Kemble: “The quick answer is yes, lettuce will re-grow, but it really comes down to having the patience to actually grow it. Lettuce can grow hydroponically, but water itself is not a good medium to grow things in. The types of roots that form in water are very different from the types of roots that […]

Dried grass clippings make an excellent organic mulch for lettuce, as do compost, leaves and straw. Do not let mulch touch the lettuce leaves, especially if either one is wet. Mulch could stick to the leaves and become nuisance to remove later. Should I mulch around my lettuce? As with anything in the garden, lettuces […]

ANSWER: Tomato feed isn’t optimal for nourishing lettuce plants because blends for tomatoes are designed to especially promote fruiting. What is the best feed 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 […]

Avoiding inner leaf “tip-burn” in lettuce Fertilize with adequate amounts of calcium. First check that adequate calcium is supplied in the nutrient program. Calcium foliar sprays. Modify the growing climate. Avoid antagonistic effects from other fertilizer nutrients. Avoid high soluble salts. Select resistant varieties. Why does lettuce get tip burn? Cause of tipburn Tipburn is […]

For high-light plants like tomatoes you will want to achieve around 40 watts per square foot for optimal growth and fruit production. For low light plants, and small leafy plants like herbs and lettuce, you will only need to achieve about 25 to 30 watts per square foot. What kind of light does lettuce need […]

Bolting is a perfectly natural process that occurs when the weather gets a bit too warm for our leafy greens. Lettuce is especially quick to go to seed in the right (or rather, wrong) conditions. Why is my lettuce growing upwards? Most lettuce varieties are cool season crops. When the hot weather comes, they send […]

Light is required for some lettuce seeds to grow. When seeds fail to germinate in the dark, they’re called “photosensitive” or “photodormant.” Once they do emerge, to grow a field of lettuce with heads that are all relatively the same size (uniform), the seedlings must all spend an equal amount of time in the sun. […]

Lettuce seed, which goes dormant at higher temperatures, takes to stratification. Some tree seed, including maple, walnut, and apple, require some kind of stratification. Many perennial herb seeds do better after getting the cold, stratification treatment. What is the best way to germinate lettuce seeds? Lettuce seeds don’t sprout easily when the soil temperature is […]

Swish Greens in Cool Water Fill a large bowl or a clean sink with plenty of cool water. Add the lettuce or greens and swish them around to loosen and remove any dirt. Dirt and debris will sink to the bottom while the greens will magically float above all that mess. What’s the easiest way […]

What do they use to keep lettuce and other fresh vegetables from turning brown as fast? Keep bottled lemon or lime juice in a spray mister in the refrigerator and spray on cut apples, avocados, peaches, pears, ecetera, to prevent these types of foods from turning brown. Does lemon juice keep lettuce from turning brown? […]

There is no truth to the rumor. If you believe your lettuce stays fresher longer when you cut it with a plastic knife, the truth is, it produces the same outcome as using a metal knife. The enemy of lettuce is time plus oxygen, not metal. Do knives turn lettuce brown? As you may have […]

Bolting, when the plants shift from leafy growth into flower production, is caused by a number of factors including high temperatures, long daylight hours, and less moisture – in essence – summer. Can you reverse lettuce bolting? Lettuce bolting to seed cannot be reversed, and when it happens it’s time to replace the cool season […]