Knowing how to plant lettuce is very advisable for all those people who want to start growing a garden, since it is one of the crops that can be harvested more quickly, in addition to being one of the easiest to grow.
In addition, being a plant that grows quickly, this makes it seem less diseases and pests, which encourages agricultural enthusiasts to enter fully into this world. This plant is usually grown for human consumption, there are different varieties of lettuce, being also a plant that can be consumed throughout the year.
Lettuce is one of the vegetables that has a lower number of calories and has many phyto-nutrients, vitamins A, B, C and K, antioxidants and minerals such as iron or potassium. It is very beneficial for the body for being a diuretic, improving vascular health or for helping kidney problems, among others.
It is a vegetable consumed all over the world, being the most common in the form of fresh salad, although there are many other ways to enjoy it.
Main enemies of lettuce
Lettuces have as main enemies:
- Slugs and snails. It can be solved with a manual collection or installation of beer traps.
- Fungi. They appear due to an excess of humidity. It can be corrected by removing the affected areas.
- Aphids: It occurs when there is an excess of nitrogen. Nettle slurry can be used as a preventive measure or plant insecticides for direct control.
- Birds: The remedy to protect yourself from birds is to cover the plants with a mesh.
- Excess moisture and dryness: Both are two problems that can negatively affect lettuce, so you should look for a balance in watering.
Lettuce varieties
There are more than 200 varieties of lettuce, the best known being the following:
- Roman: It is the most common. As it does not form a very consistent bud, it must be tied when there are about 15 days left to be harvested. This plant is grown in summer.
- Oak leaf: This is a cut variety and is usually grown in autumn and winter.
- Wonder: It is a variety that adapts to high temperatures and is cut.
- Tudela buds: This variety creates small buds and withstands low temperatures.
Instructions for planting lettuce
If you want to know how to plant lettuce you must follow these steps:
- First of all, you must be clear about the place where you want to plant your lettuce. You have to keep in mind that it is a plant that adapts to most climates, although it is always preferable to opt for places with not very high temperatures. In the event that your climate is like this you should provide them with some shade.
- Once you have decided where you are going to place the lettuce in your garden you must take care of the preparation of the soil. For this you must look for a land that is rich in very decomposed organic matter and also rich in humus. For this you can resort to the use of soils in which other vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, tomatoes or peppers have already been grown. In addition, you should look for a soil that has the ability to retain moisture in an adequate way.
- Subscription. In the case of lettuce, it is a plant that does not need a soil that is very fertilized, being sufficient with the remains of previous crops. However, in the event that your garden has poor soil, you can resort to the use of very decomposed compost. To do this you must add around 3 kilograms per square meter. During the development of lettuce will be added 1.5 kg.
- Once you start with the process of planting lettuce itself, you must start by making two lines and burying several seeds about 2 cm deep. You should leave between them a distance of about 30 cm.
- Once you have done the above, you just have to take care of your lettuce. To do this you must provide the water he needs. They are a plant that requires a large amount of water, especially when buds are formed. The perfect irrigation system is drip. Lettuces need a soil that is moist so it should be watered daily and in small quantities.
- In addition to watering, be sure to protect them from their enemies and remove weeds.
Depending on the variety of lettuce chosen, you can be ready for harvest around 2 months from planting. The planting of lettuce is simple, being important to provide adequate irrigation, that the land is rich in humus and avoid possible predators.
What do you need to plant lettuce?
- Lettuce
- Sun
- Water
- Fertilized land
Tips for planting Lettuce
- If you tie the leaves of the lettuce, it facilitates the bleaching of them, which makes them more tender.
- For its care you must remove the old or sick leaves that the lettuce may present.
- Lettuce can be planted with other plants such as cabbage, cucumber, strawberry, radish or carrot.
- You can cover your plants with grovel to avoid pests and maintain the temperature during the winter.
- To obtain the seed you must leave at least 20 lettuces of the same variety. In case you use different varieties, the pollen will be crossed and the seed will be a mixture of these varieties.
- In the direct seeding method, it is advisable to mix lettuce, arugula and mustard.