We grow lettuce 12 months of the year here at Tullamore Farm.
Lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables we grow.
It is ideal for everyone to be growing and those with limited space, like perhaps a unit, townhouse or duplex, can grow lettuce in pots or other movable garden spaces.
We never plant them out alone, although we might do if we were growing in pots.
We will companion plant them in nearly all cases. When we plant out tomatoes we will add some lettuce around the base.
Because lettuce grows so quickly by the time the tomatoes need more space or the tomatoes are casting a lot of shadow the lettuce is long ago harvested.
For those who like beetroot, which can be a bit more temperamental, you can try the following.
Firstly, plant your beetroot out, spacing them to allow for their growth.
When they are planted, add lettuce in the gaps. Again, by the time the beetroot needs more room, the lettuce is long gone.
You can harvest the whole lettuce or just harvest the outer leaves.
Lettuce can and will manage happily in partial sun.
You can start with small plants in punnets or grow from seed.
To collect your own seeds, some people allow a lettuce to flower and go to seed. They collect those seeds and then plant the seeds in grow trays, finally planting them out in their beds.
We just buy our punnets at the local Mitre 10 and plant out from there.
Most punnets have around 12 plants and we are generally harvesting five to eight weeks later.
Lettuce is quick growing so the harvest comes in a very short time frame. At the current price of lettuce it is not a huge time investment and you are getting personal satisfaction and much healthier fresher produce.
Winning in so many ways. Is it time to give it a shot and start or perhaps grow even more lettuce?
