First, the recent four most widely used types of lettuce include: leaf, romaine (also called cos), butterhead, and crisphead. Among those you\u2019ll find dozens of variations in the colors and shapes of the leaves and some with better heat or cold tolerance. With a few surefire tips, growing lettuce from seed is easy and fun. Let us all learn how to grow lettuce!<\/p>\n
Lettuce-growing seasons are a bit tricky. Lettuce grows best when it\u2019s cool, but the leaves quickly dissolve when exposed to freezing temperatures. When it\u2019s too hot, lettuce bolts (goes to seed), becomes bitter, or dries up and dies.<\/p>\n
Plant lettuce in early spring when the soil is about 60 to 80 degrees F and dry enough to work into a fine texture. For a continuous crop, sow seeds every week until temperatures get too hot for lettuce to thrive. Begin sowing again in late summer when high temps become a thing of the past.<\/p>\n
To extend the season once the
\nweather warms, add a shade cover such as netting or cheesecloth that
\nallows light to penetrate but not burn the plants.<\/p>\n
Growing Lettuce from Seed<\/strong><\/h2>\nPlanting lettuce from seed is easy.
\nThe plants emerge quickly in about 10 days so it\u2019s fun for kids to
\nplant.<\/p>\n
However, lettuce seeds are so tiny
\nthat it\u2019s hard to space them properly. It\u2019s easiest to put seeds in
\nthe palm of your hand, then use a pinch of your fingers to sparingly
\nbroadcast them so they\u2019re spaced about 1\/2 inch apart in a row or
\nseedbed.<\/p>\n
Cover the seeds with no more than
\n1\/4 inch of soil. Keep the soil lightly moist. A handheld sprayer is
\nideal for the task so the water doesn\u2019t move the seeds.<\/p>\n
Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged as the lettuce grows.<\/p>\n
Read Also: <\/strong>Amazing Health Benefits of Cabbage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nTypes of Lettuce<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"Comprehensive](\"https:\/\/agric4profits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-101.png\" "\\"Comprehensive")
<\/figure>\n(1) Leaf lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis is the easiest to grow and
\noffers the widest array of colors, shapes, and sizes. It\u2019s ready to
\nharvest in 40 to 60 days. It grows, as its name implies, in loose
\nshapes that resemble single leaves.<\/p>\n
Exciting colors and leaf forms make
\nleaf lettuce a great addition to a mixed salad. Cut the leaves at
\nground level whenever they are large enough to use. Try not to pull
\nthe roots out, because this can dislodge the roots of other nearby
\nlettuce plants.<\/p>\n
Cutting the lettuces also allows
\nthem to regrow new leaves several more times until warm weather stops
\ntheir growth.<\/p>\n
(2) Romaine, or cos, lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis type of lettuce grows with
\nupright leaves that are often sweeter and firmer than other types of
\nlettuce. It\u2019s the most nutritious of lettuces.<\/p>\n
(3) Butterhead lettuce and crisphead lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThey are a little more difficult to
\ngrow than leaf lettuce because they take more time to mature and are
\nsensitive to heat. Both form rounded heads. Crisphead (think
\n\u2018Iceberg\u2019 lettuce) is larger than butterhead lettuce, which gets its
\nname because the inside leaves stay a lighter butter color due to
\nlack of sunlight.<\/p>\n
Mesclun <\/strong>simply means a mixture of varied greens. Mesclun can be purchased as a seed mix, or you can grow your mesclun garden with an assortment of lettuces and salad greens such arugula, chervil, chicory, and endive.<\/p>\n
\nThe plants emerge quickly in about 10 days so it\u2019s fun for kids to
\nplant.<\/p>\n
\nthat it\u2019s hard to space them properly. It\u2019s easiest to put seeds in
\nthe palm of your hand, then use a pinch of your fingers to sparingly
\nbroadcast them so they\u2019re spaced about 1\/2 inch apart in a row or
\nseedbed.<\/p>\n
\n1\/4 inch of soil. Keep the soil lightly moist. A handheld sprayer is
\nideal for the task so the water doesn\u2019t move the seeds.<\/p>\n
Types of Lettuce<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/figure>\n(1) Leaf lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis is the easiest to grow and
\noffers the widest array of colors, shapes, and sizes. It\u2019s ready to
\nharvest in 40 to 60 days. It grows, as its name implies, in loose
\nshapes that resemble single leaves.<\/p>\n
Exciting colors and leaf forms make
\nleaf lettuce a great addition to a mixed salad. Cut the leaves at
\nground level whenever they are large enough to use. Try not to pull
\nthe roots out, because this can dislodge the roots of other nearby
\nlettuce plants.<\/p>\n
Cutting the lettuces also allows
\nthem to regrow new leaves several more times until warm weather stops
\ntheir growth.<\/p>\n
(2) Romaine, or cos, lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis type of lettuce grows with
\nupright leaves that are often sweeter and firmer than other types of
\nlettuce. It\u2019s the most nutritious of lettuces.<\/p>\n
(3) Butterhead lettuce and crisphead lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThey are a little more difficult to
\ngrow than leaf lettuce because they take more time to mature and are
\nsensitive to heat. Both form rounded heads. Crisphead (think
\n\u2018Iceberg\u2019 lettuce) is larger than butterhead lettuce, which gets its
\nname because the inside leaves stay a lighter butter color due to
\nlack of sunlight.<\/p>\n
Mesclun <\/strong>simply means a mixture of varied greens. Mesclun can be purchased as a seed mix, or you can grow your mesclun garden with an assortment of lettuces and salad greens such arugula, chervil, chicory, and endive.<\/p>\n
<\/figure>\n(1) Leaf lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis is the easiest to grow and
\noffers the widest array of colors, shapes, and sizes. It\u2019s ready to
\nharvest in 40 to 60 days. It grows, as its name implies, in loose
\nshapes that resemble single leaves.<\/p>\n
Exciting colors and leaf forms make
\nleaf lettuce a great addition to a mixed salad. Cut the leaves at
\nground level whenever they are large enough to use. Try not to pull
\nthe roots out, because this can dislodge the roots of other nearby
\nlettuce plants.<\/p>\n
Cutting the lettuces also allows
\nthem to regrow new leaves several more times until warm weather stops
\ntheir growth.<\/p>\n
(2) Romaine, or cos, lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis type of lettuce grows with
\nupright leaves that are often sweeter and firmer than other types of
\nlettuce. It\u2019s the most nutritious of lettuces.<\/p>\n
(3) Butterhead lettuce and crisphead lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThey are a little more difficult to
\ngrow than leaf lettuce because they take more time to mature and are
\nsensitive to heat. Both form rounded heads. Crisphead (think
\n\u2018Iceberg\u2019 lettuce) is larger than butterhead lettuce, which gets its
\nname because the inside leaves stay a lighter butter color due to
\nlack of sunlight.<\/p>\n
Mesclun <\/strong>simply means a mixture of varied greens. Mesclun can be purchased as a seed mix, or you can grow your mesclun garden with an assortment of lettuces and salad greens such arugula, chervil, chicory, and endive.<\/p>\n
\noffers the widest array of colors, shapes, and sizes. It\u2019s ready to
\nharvest in 40 to 60 days. It grows, as its name implies, in loose
\nshapes that resemble single leaves.<\/p>\n
\nleaf lettuce a great addition to a mixed salad. Cut the leaves at
\nground level whenever they are large enough to use. Try not to pull
\nthe roots out, because this can dislodge the roots of other nearby
\nlettuce plants.<\/p>\n
\nthem to regrow new leaves several more times until warm weather stops
\ntheir growth.<\/p>\n
This type of lettuce grows with
\nupright leaves that are often sweeter and firmer than other types of
\nlettuce. It\u2019s the most nutritious of lettuces.<\/p>\n
(3) Butterhead lettuce and crisphead lettuce<\/strong><\/h3>\nThey are a little more difficult to
\ngrow than leaf lettuce because they take more time to mature and are
\nsensitive to heat. Both form rounded heads. Crisphead (think
\n\u2018Iceberg\u2019 lettuce) is larger than butterhead lettuce, which gets its
\nname because the inside leaves stay a lighter butter color due to
\nlack of sunlight.<\/p>\n
Mesclun <\/strong>simply means a mixture of varied greens. Mesclun can be purchased as a seed mix, or you can grow your mesclun garden with an assortment of lettuces and salad greens such arugula, chervil, chicory, and endive.<\/p>\n
\ngrow than leaf lettuce because they take more time to mature and are
\nsensitive to heat. Both form rounded heads. Crisphead (think
\n\u2018Iceberg\u2019 lettuce) is larger than butterhead lettuce, which gets its
\nname because the inside leaves stay a lighter butter color due to
\nlack of sunlight.<\/p>\n