How to grow different kinds of Lettuce from seed to harvest.

Hi Gardening Friends

Here is some information to everyone who would like to grow their own Lettuce from seed? By growing your own lettuce from seed. Which will give you the satisfaction of growing your own lettuce from seed that you can go and pick it when it is mature and wash the lettuce and eat it,. Won't your family and friend be so excited to learn that you have grown your own lettuce for the dinner table salad from seed that you have sown by hand yourself and grew it yourself on the porch or patio.

1. Select the kind of Lettuce that you would like to grow? There are many different kinds of lettuce that you can grow examples: Head Lettuce Green Bibb, Butterhead & Boston Types Grand Rapids and Simpson Types, Salad Bowl Types, Red Looseleaf Types, and Cos and Romaine Types. try some or all of the above types of lettuce from seed and enjoy growing them on to mature heads of lettuce or enjoy growing heads of the more leafy types. Here are some excellent places to order Lettuce seeds from

a.Stokes Seeds Company

P.O. BOX 548 Buffalo

New York 14240-0548

Web Address www.stokeseeds.com

b. Parks Seed Company

1 Parkton Ave.

Greenwood, S.C. 29647

Toll Free 1-800-213-0076

Web Address: http://www.parkseed.com

3. W Atlee Burpee Seed Company

300 Park Avenue

Warminister,Pa 18974

Toll Free: 1-800-888-1447

Web Address:

http://www.burpee.com

Johnny Select Seeds

955 Benton Avenue

Winslow,Maine 04901-2601 USA.

Toll Free: 1-877-564-6697

Web Address:

www.johnnyseeds.com

Here are some Lettuce varieties that you can grow from seed. After they are grown you can serve the lettuce to your family and friends in different types of dishes that you can make.

2.Get a clean plastic seed flat and fill the flat 1/2 full with germination mix. That is first soaked with water and let drain. Then you take your flat and get ready to sow your seeds of lettuce. Make sure you mark your seed flat with what you are planting? What type and kind of lettuce. Use a plastic plant stake to mark your lettuce seed flat. Marking your flat will tell you later what variety of lettuce is growing in your flat.

3. Now get your seed flat and your packet of seeds of Lettuce and take the seed packet and sow the seeds. Try to sow them very thinly and not to thick that is the Lettuce seed. I don't cover the seed myself but if you want to go right ahead but do it lightly. Germination takes about 7 to 10 days but it depends on th soil temperature and the variety of lettuce that you are growing. After they germinate you wait until the seedling get their true leaves on and then you can transplant them into bigger pots or containers. What you can do is transplant them and water them good and set them in the shade until they are well on their own. Make sure that when you are using a container or pot to grow you lettuce in that you have a container that have drainage holes in the bottom of the container. Because young lettuce seeds will died if over water or growing in soil that the young plants are having wet feet. Keep the plants evenly moist but not overly wet and setting in water isn't good for the plants.

4. Lettuce is a cool weather crop which like the growing temperatures of 50-60* F/ 10-16*C. Lettuce does poorly in hot weather. All Lettuce is open pollen and not hybrid. Severe stress will cause many lettuce to bolt. There are types of lettuce which are breed so they don't bolt . Cos and Leaf are both suited for warmer climates than other varieties. Soil PH of 6 is suitable for lettuce. You can germinate lettuce inside anytime you want and you can keep it inside in bigger pots or when weather permits transplant the seedlings outdoors into the garden. Or in pots or containers and keep the lettuce in on your patio or porch. In growing lettuce in pots or containers and on your own patio or porch you can have the lettuce to use right outside your kitchen door.

5. What you can do with the Lettuce you grow. You can do allot with the lettuce that you grow from seed. You can cut it fresh from your porch or patio and wash it under cold water and use it in salads or in sandwiches or you can just eat it. Or you can make a delicious salad out of the lettuce that you have grown. You can put all kind of other vegetables or veggies in your salad that you are making. The vegetables that you can put in your salad with your lettuce are tomatoes and peppers make sure you wash them good and slice them or cut them up. You can also put beets in your salad and shredded carrots all of these vegetables you can grow in containers also on your patio and or porch. After that you can put in your salad shredded cheese and crotons if you want. Now you can get out your favorite salad dressing if you want and open it up and pour some on your salad. I like or prefer italian dressing but there are lots of salad dressing that you can buy or make your own. Like french, red wine vinegar, russian,thousand island and many others. Or you can mix up your own salad dressing and love during it for yourself or your friends or family, What ever salad dressing that you decide to pour over your salad just make sure you sit down and enjoy your salad with your friends and family by yourself. You can get out your favorite salad dressing and pour it on all over the top of your salad and take and mix up the entire dish with a large mixing fork and spoon. So now you can sit back and enjoy your salad that you can take pride in because you grew the lettuce and other vegetables in it.

I hope you try lettuce from seed and let me know how you did? Also if your family and friends enjoyed eating the lettuce that you have grown from seed? Let me know how you did with growing lettuce from seed.

Happy Gardening

Gardener Den