Can we talk about leaf lettuce for a hot second?

For an easy-care vegetable that keeps on giving, try growing leaf lettuce—it’s a simple crop with amazing returns.

I love growing leaf lettuce because we eat a lot of it, and having less organic produce to buy for a few months makes a decent difference on my grocery bill. Plus, homegrown just tastes better.

Lettuce is a plant that boosts your confidence as a gardener. It grows relatively quickly, which is always a bonus after a long winter when you’re excited to get your hands dirty and see the fruits of your labor in just a few short weeks. When those first minuscule leaves pop up in the perfect lines you sowed them in (unless like me, you have a punk chipmunk who lives in your yard and likes to jack up your neatly planted beds), it almost brings a tear of pride and joy to your eyeballs.

And the leaves really start to grow. So, you cut and eat lettuce. But you only cut enough for dinner because you don’t want to cut it all at once. You want to save some for dinner tomorrow night too. This, friends, is where it starts to get hilarious. Because somehow, some way, every single time you cut yourself a big harvest of lettuce, before you know it, there is it again… fully grown in all its green lettuce glory!

Now, maybe you’re like me and look around for the neighbor who is replanting grown lettuce in the night to pull the prank of all pranks. But no. It’s just how quickly lettuce grows. You eat it today, and tomorrow there is more. Heck, it’s probably grown back before your dinner is even over.

The lettuce magic fades…

This is cute and adorable until you’ve eaten salad for 47 straight days and given away a bale of lettuce daily to each of your neighbors, and the lettuce is still growing. It gets a little less funny and magical at this point, so you finally let it go to seed and thank Mother Nature for the hot temperatures that will make it harder for lettuce to grow.

Until fall, of course. By then, you’ve forgotten how lettuce works, and you get excited about never-ending lettuce again. Bless our hearts. 

Written by Jamie Seitz for garden Gate©

More lettuce for you!

Sowing Leaf Lettuce Seed

The key to delicious, tender leaves is to maintain a fresh supply of young plants. To do this, you’ll have to sow seeds in succession.

As cool-season plants, lettuce is best grown in spring or fall. If you want to get a head start, you can even start the first batch of seeds indoors six weeks before your area’s final frost date in spring.

Collectively, varieties of leaf lettuce are hardy in USDA Zones 2 to 11, and reach mature heights and spreads of six to 12 inches.

With a rapid growth rate, the plant reaches maturity somewhere in the ballpark of 30 to 90 days.

Crispy, tasty, and packed with nutrients such as vitamins A and K, leaf lettuce has been enjoyed by humans for millennia. It’s a key ingredient in healthy meals such as salads, wraps, and sandwiches.

Source and photo: gardenerspath.com©