how far apart to plant lettuce seedlings

Sprinkle seeds over the entire row — with most crops, try to land the seeds about 1/2 to 1 inch (1 to 2 cm) apart. There is some debate as to whether or not it is better to place the lettuce plants farther apart or closer together. The LED Grow Light must be used properly for optimum growth and yield. When to Plant for Beautiful Homegrown Lettuce. Plant the lettuce in a part of your garden with … If you start the seeds inside, the plants can benefit from an earlier planting date, and therefore a longer growing season. Lettuce is a popular vegetable to grow in the home garden and how to grow lettuce successfully is important to know. Water when the soil is dry; the best time to water is in the early morning. Prevention is the best cure, so cover lettuces with insect-proof mesh (like Enviromesh) from June until August as this will prevent aphids getting to the roots. There are many ways to control slugs and snails, including beer traps, sawdust or eggshell barriers, copper tape and biocontrols. Transplant Crisphead seedlings 10 to 12 inches apart … They'll take a light freeze if they're hardened off properly. While growing lettuce crops is quite easy, there are a number of things that can go wrong – like pest or disease issues. Many gardeners don’t know how far apart they plant iceberg lettuce. Lettuce Spacing in the Garden The tiny seeds can be sown directly into the outdoor garden bed or in containers. As you harvest the outer leaves of looseleaf and butter lettuces, the plant continues to produce from a central crown. Protect from slugs! Join the RHS today and support our charitable work, Keep track of your plants with reminders & care tips – all to help you grow successfully, For the latest on RHS Shows in 2020 and 2021, read more, RHS members get free access to RHS Gardens, Free entry to RHS members at selected times », Reduced prices on RHS Garden courses and workshops, General enquiries Lettuce seedlings will grow well when spaced a minimum of 6 inches apart. This feature allows you to keep harvesting all season long, and as you do this you’re also creating more space for the new leaves to grow into. Space plants 3 inches apart in rows 8 inches apart. Walk away, and count the days to planting time. Unless growing for seed sow bolt-resistant varieties. For a spring crop: sow a cultivar such as 'Winter Density' in September/October either in a cold greenhouse or outside under cloches in mild areas. Space your seeds or seedlings about 1 foot apart and ¼” deep. It has good resistance to root aphid. Giving each plant the room it needs to be as healthy and robust as possible is essential. Romaine and butterhead lettuce seedlings require 6 to 8 inches between each plant. Even if you’re not a vegetable gardener, you should consider trying lettuce, which is one of the easiest to grow. It forms a loose head. We hope this plant spacing chart will make things … Cover seeds with 1/2 inch of soil and keep them moist, but not soaked. It depends on how susceptible they are to various fungi and disease. Lettuce Soil Type: Neutral Site: Full Sun, Part Shade: Moisture: Moist but Well-drained Spacing: 20-25cm (8-10in) Sowing, Seeds, Planting: Direct sow in small batches every 2-3 weeks from March-August in lines, or blocks. For an early winter crop: sow outdoors in early August and cover the plants with closed cloches in late September. Salad Bowl Lettuce comes in green and red varieties, you can also buy seed mixes where you grow … Sometime lettuce seeds have difficulty germinating in hot soil, so I start my new baby lettuces in flats that I can keep well-watered and shaded until the plants are large enough to transplant into the garden. Space your rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Here is a quick reference guide to spacing lettuce: Looseleaf Lettuce – 2-4 inches apart Butter Lettuce – 6-8 inches apart Crisp Head Lettuce – 12-18 inches apart For either seeded or transplanted lettuce, have 12 to 15 inches between each row. Plant as early in the spring as you can, whether indoors or out. How to Grow Bibb Lettuce Plants Bibb Lettuce plants are a heading variety of lettuce. Giving romaine lettuce plenty of room to grow results in larger heads. How far apart to plant lettuce depends on the type of lettuce you’re planting. You can grow your own young plants from seed or buy them from nurseries and garden centres. ... one tomato plant, but your tomatoes will benefit from having their own space. Dig 5 inch (12.7 cm) holes in a patch of your garden for each seedling. Lettuce makes an ideal quick crop to grow between other vegetables before they mature, or at the front of flowerbeds and in pots. How Far Apart Should Tomatoes Be Planted? For an early start, seeds can be started in flats 4 weeks prior to the last frost and transplanted outdoors in mid to late spring. If you're planting loose leaf lettuces, skip down to these instructions. Early and late sowings may need protection against cold, using cloches, plastic tunnels or horticultural fleece. Select your container. Some lettuces are resistant to root aphid. Harvest lettuces by cutting rather than pulling. Thinning lettuce plants is simple. Cos and loose-headed types: Plant 8 inches apart. Salad Bowl Lettuce is a loose-leaf or ‘cut and come again’ variety of lettuce, this means you can pick individual leaves and the lettuce plant will continue to grow. For head lettuce, thin seedlings to 8 inches apart. How far apart to plant lettuce depends on the type of lettuce you’re planting. A couple of weeks later, direct sow another batch. To get an even earlier start to the lettuce crop, the seeds can be sown in flats 3-4 weeks before they are transplanted to the garden. Mon – Fri | 9am – 5pm, Join the RHS today and support our charity. In a partitioned container, you should still plant at least a couple seeds in each cell in case one of the seeds doesn’t germinate. Mulch this area to lock in moisture and … This also improves air circulation which may reduce rotting. Cover the seeds with ¼ to ½ inch of soil. Yields 10 to 15 pounds. Leaf lettuce seedlings only need 4” between them, while romaine and butterhead lettuce should be planted 6 to 8” apart. I like to pull up the smaller seedlings that look less vigorous and leave the stronger looking plants. When the seedlings are big enough to handle, thin them out to 10-20cm apart. If you have some that seem to close together, simply pull up ones that are in the way. Early in the year sparrows can be a problem as they find young lettuce plants irresistible. Water along the row to resettle the soil around the roots of remaining plants. One rule of thumb for row planting leaf lettuce is 10 plants per foot. Place one on each side of your food items. Even if you’re not a vegetable gardener, you should consider trying lettuce, which is one of the easiest to grow. These varieties need extra care in order to produce the firm yet mild tasting heads that are often on grocery store shelves. Whether starting indoors or out, you will likely want to transplant your seedlings with the proper spacing for fast, full development. Water every two or three days so the seeds, and later the seedlings, do not dry out. You could also grow lettuces in growbags or containers – follow the sowing timings and spacings as below. Tip the seedlings gently out of their little pots and set each plant in its hole. A variety of salad leaves are used in this Salad of leaves and pancetta while cool lettuce leaves balance the spiciness of the meatballs in these Spiced pork patties in lettuce leaves. Grow lettuces in full sun on moisture-retentive soil. Choose a head lettuce variety for indoor planting. Time of sowing depends on when the crop is wanted: High soil temperatures in summer can prevent some cultivars from germinating. Place the plants 10 inches apart from each other in 20-inch-wide rows. Seeds need light to germinate; sow at a very shallow depth by covering with a thin layer of growing medium. If you are transplanting looseleaf lettuce starts, plant them 2-4 inches apart. Give the seedlings at least 1 inch of water per week. Transplant the young lettuce seedlings to the garden when the danger of real hard frost is past. Thin carefully and transplant extra seedlings or use as greens in salad. They'll take a light freeze if they're hardened off properly. Choose the right varieties and you can have lettuce almost all year round. Lettuce is popular to grow in containers because it can be packed closely together. Leaf lettuce: Plant 4 inches apart. If a head is your intent, space them 6-8 inches apart. Individual cells keep the onion seedlings separate and lets you skip the sometimes tricky process of pulling apart seedlings that may have intertwined roots. RHS Garden Hyde Hall Spring and Orchid Show, Free entry to RHS members at selected Lettuce head varieties should typically be spaced approximately 6-12 inches apart. Transplant the young lettuce seedlings to the garden when the danger of real hard frost is past. Lettuce grows best in full sun, though excessive heat can cause plants to bolt to seed, or leaves to wilt. Lettuces are a heavier feeder as they grow … Generally, you should space plants far enough apart so that they can grow to full size. Plant iceberg lettuce seeds in a shallow seed tray. Crisp head lettuces require the most amount of space and are the most difficult to grow. Here are two cultivation tips to keep in mind: Succession Planting. In Rows. Lettuce is a vegetable that prefers growing in soil with temperatures between 40 and 60 degrees. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place. When sowing seeds directly into the soil, you should plant approximately 10 seeds per foot. Place the plants 10 inches apart from each other in 20-inch-wide rows. During the summer do not sow in the heat of the day. Lettuce plants do not like hot sunny conditions, ... noooo :0]) into drills 13mm(½") deep with the rows 30cm(12") apart. For an even earlier crop, sow indoors in early February in seed trays and plant out in early March under cloches or plastic tunnels. Consider planting rows of chives or garlic between your lettuce to control aphids. It matures early and has soft leaves with a mild taste. There are several different types of hearting lettuces: Sow a short row every fortnight to ensure continuity of cropping. Thin lettuce seedlings when they are approximately 2 inches tall. Tips for producing vigorous tomato seedlings for … Thin seedlings as soon as the first true leaves appear and continue until the plants are 30cm (12in) apart. Thin seedlings to 4 inches apart for leaf lettuce and 6 to 8 inches apart for Cos or Butterhead. Thin when beet seedlings are 2-3 inches tall. Either way, you should never place the lettuce plants too far apart. Water thoroughly at time of transplanting. (You can use the thinnings in a salad.) Space romaine plants at least 12 inches (30 cm.) Looseleaf varieties can be packed tightly together, but heading lettuces need some room. Lettuce. Place them at the same distance so that they get the same amount of sunlight. Leaf lettuce (think a package of mixed greens) is picked when leaves are 3-4 inches long. Once seedlings are a couple of inches tall, thin them to about 4 to 8 inches apart, depending on the variety. Wide row planting: This method allows you to plant more seeds in less space by concentrating watering, weeding, and fertilizing in a smaller area. Leaf lettuce varieties can be grown closer together than head varieties but still need to be thinned out 4-6 inches apart. Transplanting Head Lettuce. Protect with fleece, chicken wire or similar. Thin leaf lettuce seedlings to 4 inches apart. Here is how we do it, in 5 simple steps. Saving Seeds. Romaine varieties that grow up more than out can be spaced as close as 6 inches. Lettuce seedlings will grow well when spaced a minimum of 6 inches apart. As a general rule, though, space heading lettuces at least 10 inches apart. 222879/SC038262. Grey mould ( botrytis) is a common disease especially in damp or humid conditions. Oh, and don’t be afraid to test your pH… 6.5 is just fine! Similarly, incorrect light placement will also not allow plants to grow to their full potential. Space basil and dill seedlings 6 inches apart in a container and 10 inches apart in the garden. Transplants from indoor starts make it easy to space plants. Time of sowing depends on when the crop is wanted: For a summer/autumn crop: sow outdoors from late March to late July. Thin leaf lettuce seedlings to 4 inches apart. You can also grow a variety of salad leaves that can be picked while young and tender. Planting seeds at the right depth improves their chances of developing into hardy seedlings and increases germination rates. Thanks to Master Gardener Sheryl Williams for this great picture from her garden! Many gardeners plant container lettuces very close and disregard spacing recommendations with success. When plants have two or three true leaves, thin to 12-inch spacings for crisphead varieties, 6 … For a steady supply of lettuces, sow seed every 14 days from March through to September. How to Grow Romaine Lettuce: Final spacing of the plants should be 12" apart, in rows 18" apart. Protect your lettuce seedlings from slugs and birds (see pest control below). Although spacing for full sized plants is similar for rows, raised beds, and containers, there are some slight differences, which I’ll go over here. It is tasty, with a distinctive flavor that's popular with home gardeners. « Reply #7 on: November 12, 2007, 09:46 » Juan isa mostly right but some things (like potato blight) he knows nothing about- would he listen to me alst spring when his spuds were going blacker by the day? How to grow lettuce in a pot. I like to plant a new crop of romaine lettuce every few weeks so there's always some ready to harvest. Thinning lettuce plants is simple. Don’t make the patch any wider than 20 inches (50.8 cm). These are the recommendations of Jeff Schalau, the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in … Because the roots don’t have to compete for nutrients, they don’t require the same amount of space. Yields 5 to 6 pounds. Sow seed thinly 13mm (½in) deep in rows 30cm (12in) apart. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. There are so many types of lettuce to choose from – all with different colours, flavours and textures – that salad need never be boring! Like other lettuces, the trick to growing Bibb lettuce, is to grow it quickly. ‘Tom Thumb’:A small butterhead lettuce perfect for growing in small spaces. If the temperature rises above 60 degrees, lettuce plants will "bolt." Lactuca sativa. Garlic grows well in sunny, well-drained sites. How far apart should I plant lettuce plants? Mould can also damage ripening fruit such as strawberries. Start harvesting heads when they're about the size of a softball. Visit www.sherwoodtaylor.com for more gardening tips and info! Cut out infected areas into healthy tissue and clear up infected debris. 020 3176 5800 Sow in the evening, water with cold water and provide some shade to keep temperatures down. The following articles can help with that. Keep the soil moist and watch for garden pests. For row crops, space plants 6-12 inches apart in rows at 18-inch intervals. Grow Baby Salad Greens as cut-and-come-again. Direct-seeding. Whatever the problem, proper lettuce care and quick treatment can make all the difference. If you suspect root aphid and only have a few lettuces, you can pull them up, wash off the aphids and replant in fresh compost. Be sure that your lettuce is protected from mid-morning to late evening direct sunlight. Lettuce is ready to cut when a firm heart has formed, or the for loose-leaf varieties when leaves are big enough to be worth eating. Plant lettuce seedlings 6 inches to one foot apart … Thanks to Master Gardener Sheryl Williams for this great picture from her garden! Lettuce root aphid: Older plants suddenly wilt and die back, usually in mid- to late sunmmer. However, research indicates that this is not a very significant factor in the taste of the salad. Butter lettuce will form semi-firm heads if given the space to do so. Cut too low, and your plant is done. Time your spring crop to mature prior … Some varieties will call for 18 inches and others only 8 inches. Heads of lettuce can take up as much as 12″ of space, so you’ll need to plan accordingly. When planting this cole crop in rows, thin your seedlings or set out your transplants so that they are 12-18 inches apart, with 2-3 feet between rows. ‘Set’ AGM:A crisphead lettuce, this is easy to grow and produces large, solid hearts with crisp green leaves. Sow seed 1/8 inch deep, 1 inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. This will allow for a second batch of lettuce to come from the plant. When planting this cole crop in rows, thin your seedlings or set out your transplants so that they are 12-18 inches apart, with 2-3 feet between rows. As starts grow the weaker ones will die out naturally providing space for stronger plants. These feed on the young seedlings and you'll see the tell tale slime trail on the soil around your crop, as well as on the leaves. Learn how to plant and grow lettuce from Burpee's expert horticulturist. Sow or plant at the correct time and keep the soil or compost moist. Space heads of lettuce, fennel, and Swiss chard 8 to 10 inches apart in the garden and slightly closer in containers. Crisp head varieties are grown as close as 4 inches apart in hydroponic tables. *Transplants suitable for organic growing. The precise depth varies depending on the size and type of the seeds you have. The compact size and loose growth of leaf lettuce means you can plant them closer together than head lettuce, but thinning is still necessary for healthy growth. Many gardeners don’t thin looseleaf lettuces. Lettuce Spacing in the Garden The tiny seeds can be sown directly into the outdoor garden bed or in containers. Iceberg and romaine are two common types of head lettuce. Space 15cm (6in) apart and in rows 30cm (12in) apart. Lettuce should be planted in rows, with the seeds planted just ¼ to ½” deep. You can even include it among your dormant perennials. Plant individual cloves so the tips are 2.5cm (1in) below the soil surface. ‘Little Gem’ AGM:This is a Cos lettuce with small solid heads and produces a sweet, crisp heart. Remedy: The damage is worse in dry conditions, so keep lettuce well-watered. Seeded lettuce may be planted 2 to 3 weeks earlier. This is especially true if you’re growing lettuce in containers. A usually grey, fuzzy fungal growth which can begin as pale or discoloured patches. Lettuce is ideal for succession planting.Sow seeds every two weeks for production throughout the season, starting with early lettuce varieties, using heat-tolerant varieties as your main crop, and then switching to fall crops late in the summer. Because you’ll be spacing crisp heads so far apart, there is bound to be bare soil between each head. Transplants should be planted near the last frost-free date for the growing area. New seedlings will benefit when soil is prepared soil about two weeks before planting. Lettuce germinates quickly from seed or you can buy transplants. Start harvesting heads when they're about the size of a softball. Sow seed thinly 13mm (½in) deep in rows 30cm (12in) apart. 36″ – 48″ (90-120 cm.) Growing Guide GROWING NOTES. Space crisp head lettuces 12-18 inches apart. Use a garden knife or scissors and cut the outer leaves from the bundle, or grab several at a time and slice an inch above the base of the plant. Organize the holes in staggered rows, making the holes 10 inches (25.4 cm) apart. Again, head lettuce should be started indoors. Lettuce spacing is not an exact science, but most varieties tend to do best with spacing between 6 and 18 inches (depending on the type, so check the seed envelope or tag). ‘Nymans’ AGM:A Cos lettuce with deep read outer leaves and a rich green heart. Lettuce is a cool season crop and growing lettuce in pots is possible from spring to fall in most of the regions. You can supplement with other low growing plants like lettuce or marigolds that won’t compete with your tomato. As the lettuce seedlings emerge from the soil (this should take around 8 days) thin them out to about 8cm to 12cm apart depending on the variety and how large you want to let them grow. Learn how to plant and grow lettuce from Burpee's expert horticulturist. Lettuce needs a well-drained soil with loads of organic matter (like crumbly compost), a bit of a seaweed feed and some lovely mulch. For every square metre/yard add 25g (1oz) of general-purpose fertiliser. You can even include it among your dormant perennials. Keep the plants 4-6 inches apart (depending on the size of the leaves you want and cultivar). You could also grow lettuces in growbags or containers – follow the sowing timings and spacings as below. If you do not provide enough light, your plants will not grow to their full potential. They act as “barrier plants” for the lettuce. Experiment with what works for you and when in doubt follow the seed packet instructions. Head lettuces take longer to mature.