What Time Of Year Is Best For Lettuce?

Spring and early summer may be the best time of year for farm-fresh salad greens. The exceptional, unparalleled flavor and crisp, juicy texture is worth seeking out. Okay, sure, you can literally buy lettuce at any grocery store, any time of year. And that’s great.

What season is lettuce best in?

Lettuce is cool-season crop that grows well in the spring and fall in most regions. This crop is perfect for beginners; it’s easily sown by seed directly in the soil as soon as the ground can be worked.

What weather is best for lettuce?

Lettuce grows best in a temperature range of about 45 to 75 degrees. In weather hotter than that, the leaves become bitter to the taste. When leaf lettuce bolts—which means they begin to send up its flower shoots—it’s a signal that the production of edible lettuce is done for the season.

What month do you harvest lettuce?

Fall crops may do best if started from seed indoors and then transplanted into the garden when the temps cool. Look for head lettuce varieties that you can grow from seed like Crisphead and Iceberg. The seeds germinate in 10 to 21 days and the lettuce will mature and be ready to harvest in about six weeks.

Can lettuce grow in all seasons?

Many varieties of lettuce will grow well into fall, even with cooler temperatures. Up until around August, you can still sow a wide range of lettuces. Some grow quickly and produce a crop for the fall even without the need for any special winter protection.

What temperature is too cold for lettuce?

Lettuce may cope with light freezing and even one or two hard freezes, but once the thermometer reads 25°F or below, the plants are in danger. That level of cold causes ice to form in the plant tissue, regardless of the amount of moisture in the air.

What temperature can lettuce tolerate?

Lettuce is adapted to cool growing conditions with the optimum temperatures for growth of 60 to 65°F. At 70 to 80°F, the plants flower and produce seed. Lettuce can tolerate a few days of temperatures from 80 to 85°F, provided that nights are cool.

Does lettuce need a lot of water?

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.

Does lettuce need sun or shade?

full sun
Soil, Planting, and Care
Although lettuce grows fastest in full sun, it is one of the few vegetables that tolerates some shade. In fact, a spring crop often lasts longer if shaded from the afternoon sun as the season warms. You can grow lots of lettuce in a small space, even a container.

Does lettuce grow in winter?

Winter Lettuce
Varieties of winter-hardy lettuce can keep cropping during any mild spell in winter, then again from early spring. Winter lettuces are hardy, tenacious and tasty!

How many times can you regrow lettuce?

You can only get so much growth from one single sowing of lettuce. Once it’s mature, you can harvest leaf lettuce for a month or so before it starts getting bitter and goes to seed.

Does lettuce grow back after cutting?

Head lettuce will die back, but most leaf-lettuce plants renew efforts to produce leaves, if regularly watered after trimming. Results will often be smaller than the original plant, but you may be able to harvest a second, good-tasting crop within as little as two weeks.

How long does a lettuce plant last?

Learn the step by step to plant, set up, and grow your own organic salad garden and enjoy fresh greens at least six months each year. Red lettuces tend to last longer than green, and romaine varieties of the green will usually last longer than the softer butter-type varieties.

What is the easiest lettuce to grow?

Loose leaf lettuce
Loose leaf lettuce, which refers to varieties that don’t form any type of head, is considered the easiest to grow. It matures in 40-45 days, but no need to wait that long to enjoy it! You can start thinning (and eating the trimmings) in as little as three weeks.

What is the problem of lettuce?

Most salad greens turn bitter when daytime temperatures rise above 70°F (21°C). That’s how much temperature matters. Remember that lettuce is a cool-season vegetable and you’ll never try to grow it in the heat of summer again. Another reason that lettuce becomes bitter, is from too little water/moisture.

Will lettuce survive a freeze?

Lettuce is considered “hard frost hardy,” which means it can withstand frosts below 28 degrees. If the frost continues unabated, however, the cell walls may form ice, and the plant actually freezes. Freezing is irreversible and will kill a lettuce plant.

How long does lettuce take to grow?

Lettuce grows fairly quickly. Leaf varieties reach maturity in 30 days but can be harvested as soon as they reach the desired size. Other types of lettuce require 6 to 8 weeks to reach full harvest size.

What is the best lettuce to grow in winter?

Hi Joan, the best cold hardy winter lettuce varieties are Cos, Tom Thumb, Little Gem, Lamb’s Ear lettuce, Corn Salad, loose leaf varieties such as oak leaf green and red, mesclun winter greens, there is a hearting variety called Imperial Triumph that is cold tolerant.

How do you grow lettuce in the winter?

September is a great month to plant lettuce for a winter crop. We sow lettuce every two days during the first three weeks of the month. Lettuce seed germinates best at about 70 degrees — although it will also sprout at temperatures in the 40s — and prefers cool nights.

What fertilizer is best for lettuce?

Any balanced, all-purpose fertilizer will suffice for lettuce, and any that have more nitrogen (higher N value in the NPK numbers) will promote faster, more lush growth. There aren’t really any “lettuce fertilizers” on the market in the same way that there are tomato fertilizers or grass fertilizers.

Can you use Miracle Grow on lettuce?

If you are looking for an all-around great option for lettuce then I recommend the Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food. This is one of the Best Lettuce Fertilizers EVER! This fertilizer instantly feeds providing bigger, better lettuce. You can apply it every two weeks with a garden feeder.