Early lettuce varieties can be grown at home from February. This has the advantage that you can harvest much earlier. Find out below which varieties are suitable for pre-growing and how to proceed step by step.
Early lettuce can be planted out from April/May
Early Lettuce Varieties
You will come across many different types of lettuce in specialist shops. These differ not only in their appearance, but above all in their sowing date. If you want to grow lettuce at home, you should opt for an early variety. For example:
- dynamite
- Grazer Krauthäuptel 2
- May King
- Merveille des 4 Seasons
- muck
- Sylvesta
- Veronique
- Victoria
A comprehensive overview of early, middle and late varieties can be found here.
The best conditions for germination
Lettuce germinates best at temperatures between 16 and 18 degrees. Temperatures above 20 or below 10 degrees inhibit germination. Furthermore, drafts should be avoided and even watering should be ensured. Lettuce germinates particularly well under foil or glass, but a light location by the window is also sufficient.
A guide to growing lettuce
To grow lettuce, all you need is potting soil or soil enriched with compost, seed trays, some water and the seeds. Then proceed as follows:
- Fill the seed trays three-quarters full with soil.
- Water the soil with some water.
- Place two or more seeds in each bowl.
- Cover the seed with a thin layer of soil (about 0.5cm).
- Pour the peels carefully again. Be careful not to wash away the soil.
If you have the opportunity to cover the bowls with foil or glass, do so. However, you should not simply cover the bowls with foil, as this will prevent the plants from growing! Use a store-bought or improvised mini-greenhouse instead. In this way you ensure sufficient moisture and ideal germination conditions.
How many seeds per tray?
If you are dealing with seeds from a specialist shop, it is sufficient if you plant two seeds per bowl, because the probability that all seeds will sprout is very high. However, if sowing seeds you have collected yourself, it is advisable to sow several seeds (up to five or six) per tray to ensure at least one or two seeds will germinate. If you sow more than two seeds per tray, you will need to prick out the lettuce a week or two after sowing. Find out how here.