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Tips for Growing Lettuce In The Garden

There’s nothing better than a salad made with fresh lettuce from the garden. Adding lettuce to your garden can be a welcome addition. Not only is healthy and tasty to eat but it needs very little space to grow. But there are some guidelines you should know before planting lettuce.

To grow lettuce or any other vegetable, you need to have good soil. For lettuce, keep the nitrogen level high by using 30-10-10 NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilizer. This will provide the lettuce with the nutrition it needs to produce healthy leaves.

Plant the seeds about 1/8-3/8 inch deep, separated by 6-12 inches (2-3.5 m) from the next plant. Romaine does fine at the smaller spacing, but crisp lettuce needs more room. If you plant in rows, keep the rows separated by about 20 inches (6m). Keep in mind that seeds shouldn’t be planted too early, since they’re subject to cold damage.

Keeping the soil moist but not soaked is good. Lettuce doesn’t have very deep roots, so it needs to find moisture near the surface. Still, try to keep the water off the leaves and onto the soil, except for the occasional washing. Wet leaves encourages disease, especially when they’re moist during nighttime temperatures.

Since their roots aren’t very deep you’ll also need to be diligent about weeding around lettuce plants. Many grasses and other plants can compete well because their roots go down to deeper soil. Infrequent but deep watering, letting the top layers dry out, will give most an advantage. But lettuce doesn’t have that advantage, so you’ll need to help them.

Like most vegetables, lettuce plants also have problems with diseases and pests. In their case, the variety is quite large. Many insects find the leaves irresistible and the folds offer many places for fungi to grow.

Aphids, flea beetles and leafhoppers are common problems. Slugs are even more so. Cutworms are often seen. Washing with a high pressure hose can help temporarily, but be sure to do it early to give the leaves time to dry before nightfall. A good insecticide lightly applied will keep them under control for the long term.

Anthracnose (Microdochium panattonianum) is a common fungal disease. It can stay alive in unplanted soil for many years, so don’t assume you’re safe because your garden is new. Bottom rot (Rhizoctonia solani) is another common fungus. It occurs usually in soil that drains poorly. Keeping the foliage dry and planting in good soil will help to reduce the odds of being infected.

Another common problem with lettuce is bolting. Bolting is not a disease or pest but occurs when the plant goes to seed and the leaves stop growing. Bolting happens when the temperatures are consistently too high. To prevent this from happening, plant lettuce in shaded area or plant next to a shading crop such as corn.

With the proper preparation, planting technique and care you can have lettuce several times during a growing season.

August 25 2008 | Gardening | No Comments »

What Are the Ten Best Vegetables to Grow in Your Home Garden?

With supermarket prices going through the roof, perhaps your own vegetable garden could be taking on more importance. Or, if you don’t have a vegetable garden, it may be time to get one established. Regardless, if you’re into vegetable gardening, then you face the question of just what varieties of vegetables should you grow?  Opinions may differ, but with this list, it’s hard to see how. By the way, while you’re at it, install a garden fountain in with the vegetables.

Here’s a rundown of the very best choices. And, here’s to not only saving money, but enjoying superior quality in the bargain!

Ten Great Vegetables for Home Vegetable Gardens

It’s sometimes recommended that you don’t try to grow vegetables that are readily available at your local supermarket. If a particular vegetable is inexpensive, you might want to skip growing it and just purchase it.

Of course, it can be difficult to find good quality in some types of vegetables, so if there is a big difference in quality, that could be a great reason for growing that type.

Tomatoes: Although technically a fruit, its savory nature leads to this little beauty being considered a vegetable by most people. Tomatoes found in stores are usually picked nearly green and then ripened artificially.

This is done to ensure they are tough enough to survive shipping without being smashed, and so they last longer on the shelves. Since tomato quality can be really poor in stores, this is a very good choice. Tomatoes are the most popular choice for vegetable gardeners, because they probably have the most noticeable difference over store bought.

Lettuce: Although iceberg lettuce doesn’t very that much from store to home, leaf lettuces and other fancy lettuces can taste much sweeter and crisper if grown at home. Plus, exotic lettuces can often be very expensive.

Peas: Peas can be very hard to find fresh. Canned peas are often mushy, and although frozen peas are certainly better than canned, they still pale in comparison to fresh peas. Tiny baby peas are sweet, delicate, and delicious, making them well worth the effort.

Carrots: Store bought carrots are often woody, tough, and bitter. Even organic carrots often carry a strong bitterness caused by being kept at temperatures that are too cool for too long. Fresh carrots are generally very sweet and delicious.

Radishes: Radishes are cheap and easy to find in stores, but most store bought radishes are already turning pithy. If you’ve ever bitten into a radish that was dry and spongy inside, you’ll understand how bad pithy radishes are. Fresh radishes are delightful!

Greens: Although most greens are readily available in stores, they’re often yellowing and wilted by the time you buy them. By growing them yourself, you can be sure you have fresh greens when you want them.

Asparagus: Fresh asparagus is often ridiculously expensive, and canned asparagus is mushy and horrible! The only way to get affordable asparagus that isn’t mushy and bland is to grow it yourself.

Peppers: Peppers in stores are often shriveled and pathetic. Plus, peppers that aren’t standard green peppers can often be very expensive. My local store has sold red peppers for as much as $2.99 each, which is crazy! Grow your own and save money.

Cucumbers: Store bought cucumbers are often bitter and dry. If you’ve ever had a dried out, semi-hollow cucumber, you’ll understand the importance of growing your own!

Corn: Sweet corn is a delight to eat when it’s freshly picked. Corn is extremely sensitive to being off the stalk. Once it’s been off the stalk for 6 hours, it starts to deteriorate rapidly. You’ve never had corn until you’ve eaten it cooked fresh.

So, to wrap it up, growing all of these ten great, delicious and nutritious vegetables in your own vegetable garden will yield wonderful dividends in terms of the sheer joy of gardening, and then savoring the freshness of what’s grown after if moves through your kitchen to your table.

May 24 2008 | Gardening | No Comments »