Lettuce seed is inexpensive, coming in at Rs 20 per packet upwards, higher price being paid for colorful verities having purple, black, crimson, red, pink, or striped leaves and they all look others containers as well as mixed in flower beds.
The seed is quite small so take care when sowing because if the seedlings are too close together they will not thrive. They can, of course, be thinned out to the ideal planting distance of six inches apart all round or one seedling per seven-inch clay pot, but why waste seed?
Sow seeds just under the surface of good quality compost and keep moist, not wet, at all times. Lettuce grows very fast and can be ready for harvesting in as little as six weeks after sowing. Therefore, ideally, it is best to sow just a few seeds every week in order to maintain a constant supply.
When harvesting lettuce it is not necessary to cut the entire plant. Simply snipping off outer leaves as and when you want them and leaving the others to grow on extends the harvesting season and means that you can dedicate less space to them than if you were to keep cutting entire plants before the inner leaves are fully developed.
As long as they receive adequate water, lettuces are trouble free and rewarding to grow and eat.
By B Khan