Lettuce is the golden retriever of the vegetable world: simple, loyal and easy to satisfy. Throw any season at a lettuce and you’re bound to get some produce in return.
We categorise lettuce as any leafy green that hasn’t had a life as a superfood on Oprah – this excludes kale, spinach and silverbeet (Swiss chard). It seems to thrive best in early autumn and spring conditions but, like your retriever, will be happy with most seasons. Lettuces are not especially hungry for nutrients, but do require a steady supply of nitrogen. Scatter pelletised chook manure through the garden at the beginning of the growing season and water with seaweed solution every 2 weeks for optimal leaf quality.
If you’re told to fetch a head of lettuce from the supermarket you have roughly three or four choice. Go to a good nursery and there are enough varieties to start a leafy green cult – from red mizuna to speckled mignonette, sweet rocket (arugula) to a personal favourite, wasabi greens. There’s a lettuce for every occasion.
Lettuces can be broken down as either hearting (iceberg, for example) or non-hearting (mignonette), and this gives you and indication of how they should be harvested. Hearting varieties should be taken as whole heads, while non-hearting varieties can be harvested in our favoured leaf-by-leaf manner. However, if you harvest all types of lettuce leaf by leaf, it helps to achieve a perpetual harvest and more output from the patch.
PLANTING
You can sow the seeds directly into the veggie patch or in punnets, to transplant once germinated. Sow on the surface of the bed, Just make sure that the birds don’t peck at the seeds.
WATERING
In ground: Water daily for the first 4 weeks and 3-4 times a week in the absence of rainfall thereafter. More frequent watering may be required during the warmer times of the year.
In Pots: Water daily while establishing and for the entirety of the warm season, otherwise every second day – after they are 4 weeks old – if growing during the cooler times of the year.
MAINTENANCE
Depending on variety (hearting or non-hearting) you can pick outer leaves for a perpetual harvest or harvest as a full heart when fully developed . Be careful not to water leaves in the heat of the day on higher temperature days as it can burn the leaves.
HARVESTING
Time until first harvest: About 10 weeks
How to harvest: Leaf-by-leaf harvesting is encouraged for a perpetual harvest. Take more mature outer leaves and work your way in, leaving enough foliage on each plant to properly reproduce.
TIP
A perpetual harvest is the best way to get more bang for your buck. Pick enough for your salad that night and you’ll still have enough for the night after that and the night after that and the…
