Lettuce you buy from the grocery shop is not as fresh and rich in vitamins as homegrown lettuce. Homegrown lettuce is far superior and more favourable.
It is a quick-grown veggie that is usually ready for harvest within a few weeks of plantation. Lettuce is one of the easiest grow crops which grows as easily in a container as in the garden.
Grow lettuce at home in India with these simple steps and learn how to care for them. Here we go
- Germination Temperature - 7° - 27°C
- Sunlight for the first 2 weeks - 5-6 hours; After 3 weeks - 8 hours; Winters - 6-7 hours
- Soil - Loamy and well-drained loose soil
- Season - February-April; September-November
- Containers Types - Wheelbarrows, window boxes, wood, terracotta, clay, discarded barrels.
- Water in Summer - Twice a day; Water in Winter - When needed
- Pests - Beetles, Aphids, Worms, Caterpillars, Maggots, etc.
- Diseases - Rot, Yellow Spots, Mildew, Leaf Spot, etc.
- Companion Plants - Broccoli, Cabbage, Peppers, Tomatoes, Thyme, Oregano, Basil.
- Types of Lettuce - Lollo Red, Romaine, Iceberg.
Prepare Your Soil To Grow Lettuce At Home
Before you start plantation, ensure your soil bed is perfect for lettuce growth. Take a sample to your nearby gardening centre and know your soil condition.
Improve your garden bed with Organic Potting Mix, which maintains a stable soil pH balance better for lettuce growth. Rich in vermicompost and nutrients, which raise your garden and container bed.
Growing Lettuce at Home
Start from lettuce seed as it offers to choose the best variety.
Now, you are ready for lettuce plantation. So, let’s dive into it:
Add the potting mix to the garden bed if you want, to directly start from the ground. If you are using containers, fill the container with potting mix, leaving 1 inch of space from the rim.
Sow the lettuce seeds and space 1 inch apart. Cover them with a thin layer of potting mix. Be sure to choose a place that gets an adequate amount of sunlight, better for seed germination. Feed them weekly with Organic Plant Food, better for healthy seed-germination.
Water thoroughly and keep the soil moist. But don’t make it soggy as it can affect the root growth.
Lettuce seeds usually take 7-10 days to germinate, if you care about them. Be sure your plants get plenty of sunlight and soil is consistently moist. And the temperature should be 18-22° C.
When the seeds germinate, they will turn into small seedlings. Thin them out, one 2-3 tiny leaves begins to appear. Thinning means trimming a few plants so that they get a enough space for growth.
During this stage, you can either transplant your crop into a different container or continue the growth process.
If you want to transplant, there are a few things that you should know.
Transplanting Lettuce Seedlings
After 15 days, reduce watering the saplings by 20% and continue to reduce watering until 48 hours before the day of the plantation.
Before 2-3 days of the plantation, completely stop watering. Be sure you have watered well earlier, so the plants have stock of water.
After 21-25 days of sowing, start transplantation. The best time for plantation is recommended around early evenings (post 4 PM). It will increase the survival chances of your lettuce.
Prepare the soil bed where you want to transplant with Organic Potting Mix.
In the initial 5-6 days of the plantation, cover your plants with shade cover. It helps saplings to recover faster and adjust them to their new home.
Once they recover, they will continue to grow well. In case, if grasshoppers and caterpillars create a problem, you can spray them with
Organic Total Plant Care.
When your plants feel good to sit in their new home, its time to fertilize. For your lettuce, choosing the right fertilizer is very important so that it can lead to better produce.
Once the lettuce plants grow up to 3-4 inches and stand firmly in the soil, it is advisable to fertilize. Fed them well with Organic Plant Food; specially formulated for better rooting and growth.
Apply the fertilizer after every week for 3-4 weeks.
The harvest time depends on your regions climatic conditions and the variety of seed you have chosen.
Lettuce plants are usually ready for harvest after 6-8 weeks of sowing seeds.
Harvesting Lettuce
Lettuce is a best plant for home gardening as you can enjoy this even after cutting. Grow lettuce one time at home and harvest it multiple times. What can be better than this?
Let’s take a look at how to harvest lettuce for which you have spent a lot of effort and time to nurture.
Its recommended to harvest lettuce early in the morning. During this time, the leaves would be crispy and fresh. But if you can’t harvest in the morning, you can do it in the evening as well.
Water your plants and wait 15-20 minutes before you move to your garden with your harvesting tools.
The best time to harvest your lettuce is when they grow up to 4-6 inches. Harvest young leaves to add flavour to your salads.
While harvesting, don’t forget to promote regrowth. Pick outer leaves with scissors, cut 1 inch above the base of the leaf. Wash lettuce leaves to keep them crispy and fresh and before use, so they don’t go limp.
We recommend you to consume only fresh leaves. Here are some tips on how you can store lettuce after harvest.
To store green leafy vegetables, like lettuce is always tricky. Because there is a possibility that these leaves can lose their crispy feel and freshness.
If you want to store them, wrap lettuce leaves in dry paper or paper towels. Also, you can store them in the freezer. You can store lettuce leaves for at least a couple of weeks.
There are chances that your lettuce leaves have developed a bitter taste, store them in a refrigerator for a day to rid them of the bitterness.
Now, you are ready to grow lettuce at home in pots in India. Let’s start today and enjoy the favourable taste of lettuce and a small garden at home.
