Lettuce

[bridget mc laughlin]

Any of you grapes know the best way to start lettuce and what you think are the best varietys

[veg4681]

Any of you grapes know the best way to start lettuce and what you think are the best varietys

Not really sure what you're asking for . You sow the seeds in seed trays or cell trays as I find that if you sow straight in the ground of your veggie bed, the slugs will get them most likely.

As for best variety, it's probably a personal taste. Check out the various type of lettuce as being Butterhead, Crisphead (e.g. Iceberg), Cos lettuce (Little Gem) and Loose leaf from the seeds sites on the Net e.g. T&M but I personally prefer cos lettuce because they're relatively fleshy leaves and some of the variety in there are cut & come again which means you don't have to pull the whole plant for harvesting as you do with iceberg lettuce.

[muckdiva]

I like Tom Thumb, fast maturing, very tasty and not much waste. You could sow a few now in cells, ready to plant out when the weather warms up.

As I can never decide which lettuce to grow, I created a 'mixed' pack of seed by taking a small pinch of each variety I had in packs in my seed box. It worked really well and I had at least a couple of each variety growing in the garden. Forellenschloss (also known as Speckled Troutback) is a very pretty plant to grow and has good flavour too.

[workhorse]

I have never grown lettuce. Can they be grown in the greenhouse, or must they be grown outside. If so, can they be grown in Grow bags?

[gojiberry]

When sowing lettuce sow thinly. They dont like any heat to start them off so dont try germinating in a propagator a nice cool greenhouse is ideal. They will grow very well in growbags either inside or outside although growth will be very slow outside at this time of the year.

[veg4681]

I have never grown lettuce. Can they be grown in the greenhouse, or must they be grown outside. If so, can they be grown in Grow bags?

Lettuces are one of the easiest veggies you can possibly grow. You can start them off indoors but once they're big enough, you can plant them outside in containers, growbags, possibly window box and of course your veggie bed after threat of frost is gone but make sure the slugs don't get them esp when they're still seedlings. I scatter slug pellets on mine but different people have different preferred method of slug control.

The lettuce seeds are very tiny so you tend to over sow and end up with more lettuces than you actually need so it is best to sow little qty at a time but frequently, what is known as successional sowing; sow every 2-3 weeks.

[PAULW]

I agree with Muckdiva, personally I cant think of anything worse than chomping your way through an iceberg lettuce so I grow Lolla Rosso, Litttle Gem,Butterhead seven types in all just to make a salad interesting.

[SMS6]

I grew several lettuce mixes last year but one I really liked was called Catalogna - it was a very pretty looking lettuce and very tasty.

Plus some late sown seeds have survived the winter and are now doing very well

[Cutecumber]

Lettuces like to be kept cool, and their growing medium needs to be water retentive.

If you sow little and often, as the year wears on you notice how the growing time changes and how the loose-leaf varieties, of which you pick a few leaves at a time, toughen up more quickly.

I like Little Gem - it grows really well in quite small pots and heads up quickly. It is tasty and tender.

The only ones that I have been a bit disappointed with are the lollo rosso type - I can never seem to get them to fill out and they get rot/ mildew.

I sow tiny amounts in cells - they germinate with ease - then I transfer them to pots when they're growing vigorously.

Aphids and slugs/ snails are the biggest problem.

[Birdie Wife]

There are several lettuce mixes on the market now for the 'cut and come again' lettuces, so you can grow a big variety of leaves in a small space and they are so useful for mixed salads. The only single variety lettuce I grow usually is a cos type, although this year I'm trying raddichio mostly because it looks stunning and slugs/snails don't seem to favour the red types as much as the green.

[momol]

I have never grown lettuce. Can they be grown in the greenhouse, or must they be grown outside. If so, can they be grown in Grow bags?

You can grow your lettuce in green house now but as it is warmer, grow them outside. I don't know how big or deep grow bag is but those window boxes will be big/deep enough for lettuce .

[momol]

The only ones that I have been a bit disappointed with are the lollo rosso type - I can never seem to get them to fill out and they get rot/ mildew.

They are tricky CC,

Lollo Rosso need semishade (morning sun but shaded during the hottest midday) plus cool air to grow dense and turn to red colour. The soil has to be fertile and moist.
Last year was the first time I had it grown dense and red . Summer can be tricky as it is warm, it grow so fast and no longer dense. spring and autumn seems to be the best time to grow this beauty.

[SarzWix]

I agree with Muckdiva, personally I cant think of anything worse than chomping your way through an iceberg lettuce...

This is why growing your own is so great There's so many varieties, everyone can choose their favourites! I personally love home-grown 'Iceberg' types - so cool, crunchy & juicy! My favourite variety is 'Set' from Suttons, grows well even in summer heat, but doesn't mind the cold either. I sow them in cell-trays - in a frost-free greenhouse, or outdoors in a shady spot in the summer, then plant out into whatever spaces I have. I usually sow loose leaf types like 'Salad Bowl', or mixtures like T&Ms 'Colour Shades Mixed' in the same way.
I have tried sowing them direct into the soil, but slugs/snails made it a complete waste of seeds

[Cutecumber]

Until last year I had barely managed to get a lettuce to grow.

The bonus of that cool damp summer in the UK was, for me, that I got some great lettuce!

[T-lady]

Last year I grew 'cut and come again' types in standard seed trays on my patio. They did really well even though they were only in 1 1/2" of compost and I cropped each one for over 2 months.

They also grow perfectly well in grow bags - even ones that have already been used once.


I like to grow Lambs Lettuce and a mix called Spicy Oriental. A friend bought me a variety called 'Drunken Woman' for my 40th birthday - wonder what he was trying to say???