Head lettuce can easily be grown from seeds you have collected yourself or from seeds from specialist shops - both in the garden bed and in pots on the balcony or terrace. Find out here what to consider when growing lettuce.
Lettuce can be grown on the windowsill as early as February
Grow lettuce from your own seeds
The most exciting thing is growing yourself if you grow the lettuce from seeds you have collected yourself. To do this, simply let your lettuce shoot and flower in the previous year. You can then collect the seeds in the fall. Store them in a dry, dark and cool place.
From February you can prefer early varieties on the windowsill.
How to proceed with sowing:
- Fill your seed trays three-quarters full with soil.
- Moisten the soil.
- Put a pinch of seeds in the soil per bowl.
- Cover the seeds with some soil, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Spray or water the soil gently.
- Find a light location that is not too warm for your seed trays.
- If you cover your bowls with foil, you ensure even germination and sufficient moisture. Caution: Remove the foil as soon as the seeds germinate so as not to hinder their growth.
If you have a windowsill mini greenhouse (£7.95) or fancy making one yourself, you can plant your lettuce seeds in there to ensure even humidity and warmth.
prick lettuce
The seedlings can be transplanted seven to ten days after sowing. To do this, remove the excess seedlings until there are only one or two plants left per seed tray. The seedlings that you remove can either be eaten or placed in other planters.
Plant lettuce
After the ice saints, when no more frost is to be expected, your young lettuce can move outdoors:
- Loosen the soil and enrich it with some compost.
- Plant your young plants about 25cm apart in the ground.
- Don't put the plants too deep!
- Water the freshly planted lettuces.
tips
Alternatively, you can sow your lettuce directly outdoors. This should also only be done after the ice saints to prevent the young plants from freezing to death.