Lettuce seeds can be sown from early spring to early autumn. Learn how to do it right in order to reap a good harvest from even the smallest garden.
Lettuce seeds can be sown as a separate bed, or between other vegetables. Carrots, parsnips and even tomatoes are considered good salad neighbors.
You can sow several rows of lettuce between roses or other flowers right in the flower bed.
Method number 1 - spot sowing
This method will help you out if there are not very many seeds. In order for all sown lettuce seeds to sprout, they must be prepared in advance. Do not neglect seedbed preparation and plant dry seeds into the ground using the spot sowing method. It is better to soak them for a day in water, and if it is an infusion of ash, then the seeds will also be enriched with trace elements. To prepare it you will need:
- 2 tbsp. l. ash;
- 150 ml of water.
The ash is poured into water, mixed thoroughly, insisted for 2 days, then filtered. Lettuce seeds are left in this infusion for 24 hours, and after that, slightly swollen, they are sown in holes up to 2 cm deep.
The distance between the seeds depends on the type of lettuce. Leaves can be sown 5-6 cm apart, but semi-headed and head-headed 8-10 and 15-20 cm, respectively. From above, the seeds are covered with loose earth and compacted a little.
Method number 2 - semi-seedling method
This method is suitable for those who are going to grow lettuce for sale. It allows you to get greens in a very early time. To get lettuce seedlings, you need to prepare the seeds, as in the description of the first method. Then they must be sown in a container with a depth of no more than 3 cm and wait for seedlings.
After 4-6 days, when the first cotyledon leaves appear, it is necessary to carefully remove 3-5 lettuce seedlings together with the ground and plant them in a bunch in the prepared grooves in the garden.
The distance between such lettuce bushes should be at least 20 cm.
Method number 3 - thickened sowing
This method is suitable for those who want to quickly get the first greens. Lettuce seeds are sown on a prepared bed at a distance of 3 cm from each other. 10 cm between rows.
If you sow or plant lettuce seedlings in dry soil, the plants will quickly go into the arrow and become bitter.
The thickened seeding method does not involve thinning seedlings and obtaining a large number of leaves. The first harvest can be taken after 5 weeks. And if the leaves are cut at a height of 2-4 cm from the ground, after 6 weeks you can get another crop.
When choosing a sowing method, rely on your capabilities and goals. If there are few seeds, stop at spot sowing, if you plan to sell lettuce, you need to master the semi-seedling method. And for the most impatient, thickened sowing will be optimal.
