Grow your own lettuce

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Kitchen gardening

Closeup of green heads of lettuce.

Grow your own Lettuce

Nothing perks up a salad like fresh lettuce leaves picked from your garden. August is the ideal time to start with succession planting of lettuce, which can continue until October. After October the weather becomes too warm and lettuce leaves tend to turn bitter.

Step-by-step guide for growing your own lettuce :

  • Choose a sunny spot in your garden – which receives either full day or morning sun.
  • Make sure the soil is fertile and drains well by adding plenty of compost and bone meal.
  • Space lettuce seedlings 30cm apart to ensure sufficient air circulation. This will help to prevent fungal diseases from occurring.
  • Feed your lettuce monthly with liquid fertiliser and make sure the soil remains damp at all times. Dry soil can result in bitter tasting leaves.

Choose a lettuce type :

  • Crisp head lettuce (also known as iceberg) is picked all at once when the head is sizeable. Watch out for snails that tend to creep in between the leaves of the head.
  • Loose leaf (or perpetual) lettuce has outer leaves which can be picked as they are needed. The plant lasts for up to 3 months and makes a decorative edging for your vegetable garden.