Lettuce

Lettuce Growing Information

There are hundreds of varieties of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) you can grow, from soft and delicate bibb lettuce to crisp and colorful rouge d’hiver. This easy-to-grow annual is a classic for beginner and expert gardeners alike. Most types grow very quickly, maturing in five to eight weeks, and many are suitable for cut-and-come-again harvesting, so you can snip off a few leaves anytime you want a salad.

Lettuce is regarded as a cool-season vegetable, and in most home gardens it is planted in the early spring and harvested in late spring to early summer, however in Tasmania it is possible to have a year-round supply of lettuce when growing the correct varieties.

Lettuce seed germinates best in temperature around 21 degrees C.

Light

Plant lettuce in full sun, ideally where it will receive six hours of sunlight per day. It will also grow in part-sun locations.

Soil

Lettuce likes a soil rich in organic matter, such as compost or composted manure. This is one crop where extra nitrogen can’t hurt, since all you want from the plant is the leaf. Amend your soil before planting, and side dress again mid-season.

Water

Even more than rich soil, salad greens need regular water. If the plants are allowed to remain dry for prolonged periods, especially in warm temperatures, they will turn bitter, the leaves may get sun scorched, and the plants will eventually go to seed. However, don’t keep the area persistently damp or use mulch, which invites slugs.

Temperature and Humidity

Lettuce grows best in a temperature range of about 45 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Hotter weather makes the leaves bitter.

Fertilizer

Growing lettuce in soil that is rich in organic matter will give it most of the nutrients it needs. But it never hurts to supplement with an organic fertilizer like fish emulsion once every two weeks. Dilute the fish emulsion to half-strength, and apply it to the soil rather than the leaves.

source: (amended for Tasmania) https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-grow-fresh-delicious-lettuce-1403404