Fresh Lettuce

Among the easiest vegetables to grow, lettuces are ideal for pots,  where they can be more easily protected from marauding slugs  and snails. The widest selection is available in seed form, and the  cut-and-come-again types are ready to pick just a few weeks after  sowing. Try a mix of lettuces for different textures and tastes.

Lettuces are not only delicious when picked fresh from the  garden, but they also make decorative features in pots. Fill  a container, large or small, with some multi-purpose compost  and sow your seed thinly on the surface. In small containers,  try to sow about three or four seeds of butter, Romaine, and  iceberg, which form a heart, or just sprinkle cut-and-come-again  varieties more densely; you will not need to thin these out.  Sow a few pots each week for a continuous supply of leaves  throughout the summer, but remember that seeds will not germinate if the temperature is above 77°F (25°C). When  heart-forming varieties reach an inch or so in height, thin them  out to appropriate spacings, which will be given on the packet of seeds, or leave them a little closer.

CARING FOR LETTUCES

Keep your lettuces well watered at all times, especially in hot  weather when you will have to water daily, and move pots to  a slightly shaded spot in the height of the summer. Lack of water  or too much heat will cause the plants to “bolt” and produce long  flowering stems—the leaves then become bitter. However, do not  allow the compost to become waterlogged or the lettuces will  rot. Most multi-purpose composts contain enough nutrients  to sustain lettuces for a few weeks, but after that, give them  a boost with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer formulated for leafy crops.  The main pests to look out for are slugs and snails. Inspect plants every few days and pick off any culprits.