Vegetable Gourmet Lettuce
Easy to grow and quick to harvest, lettuce is perfect for patio containers, window sills and gardens; an eye catching mixes of green, red, smooth and ruffled, ideal for harvesting at the baby stage for freshly tossed salads
Essentials for Success
For flourishing plants, use potting soil for potted plants or planting mix for garden beds paired with Root Zone starter fertilizer is the perfect duo to foster robust root growth and minimize transplant shock.
Details
Edible Qualities
Lettuce is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities. The leaves typically have a mild taste and a crisp texture.
The leaves are most often used in the following ways:
- Fresh Eating
- Eating When Cooked/Prepared
Care
Planting & Growing
Lettuce varieties can vary but typically be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 inches apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop. Because of its relatively short time to maturity, it lends itself to a series of successive plantings each staggered by a week or two; this will prolong the effective harvest period.
This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average conditions that are neither too wet nor too dry, and is very intolerant of standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.
Lettuce is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing the canvas against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
