Growing Leaf Lettuce in the Home Garden

Leaf lettuce grows quickly producing tender young leaves ready for garden salads by late spring. According to nutritiondata, an online data base of the nutritional value of foods, this vegetable is a very good source of vitamins A, C, and K and provides a good source of fiber to the diet. Growing it in the home garden is relatively easy, as lettuce requires little care.

Location: Choose an area that receives six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day for growing leaf lettuce. Morning sun with some shade during the hottest part of the day is preferred, as this vegetable prefers cool growing conditions.

Soil Preparation: Turn the soil to a depth of eight to 10 inches, removing stones, roots and other debris from the soil. Rake the area smooth with a garden rake. Add a two to three inch layer of organic matter, such as compost or aged manure, and work that into the top six inches of the soil. Follow with 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 fertilizer applied to the application rate on the container. Mix the fertilizer into the soil to prevent injuries to seeds or young seedlings.

Planting: Sow leaf lettuce seeds in the spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Plant the seeds to a depth of ¼ to ½ inch spaced one inch apart. Lettuce prefers cool soil and does best in temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees F says the University of Illinois extension. Once warm weather hits, lettuce tends to bolt or turn bitter. Some varieties resist bolting better than others, but as a rule for sweet tender lettuce, grow it in cool weather.

Weeding: Mulch with two to three inches of grass clippings or straw to conserve water and create a weed barrier - otherwise pull weeds by hand when they first emerge. Use care not to disturb the roots of your lettuce when pulling the weeds. Cutting large weeds at the ground level prevents uprooting your lettuce.

Watering: The recommends frequent light watering to encourage rapid leaf growth on lettuce and cautions against over watering.

Harvesting: Harvest lettuce leaves as soon as they are large enough to eat by cutting them at the ground level. Leaf lettuce produces a new crop of tender young leaves within a week or two if cut to the ground level.

Adding colorful varieties of leaf lettuce to garden borders brightens the garden while providing you with nutritious food for your family. I like to tuck a few plants into window boxes, planters and as edging in flowerbeds for quick spring color.

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