Lettuce

What's better than making your own side salad to accompany your main dish or as a quick and tasty lunch.
The first thing we recommend is choosing the right varieties for you, plus you'll get to have fresh lettuce almost all year round! Always a win!
There are so many types of lettuce, all with different coloured leaves, textures and flavours. Your homemade salad never needs be boring.
There are two main types of lettuce. We have the hearting lettuces, that you guessed it.. have a dense hearty centre and there is also loose-leaf lettuces have open leaves and no heart . 

 Let's Grow :
​So we're ready to sow & grow our lettuces. It is recommended to grow your lettuce in full sun and in moisture-retentive soil. Depending on early or late sowing will probably need extra protection against cold. You can use cloches, poly-tunnels or a garden fleece tunnel. All these types of protection will be available at our garden centre & our online shop.
So lets talk types of lettuce, first up: 
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​Cos
Cos type lettuces grow upright . Cos lettuce also known as "Romaine Lettuce" it grows in a long head of sturdy leaves with a firm rib down the centre.

Butterhead
Butterhead aka Boston Bibb forms loose heads. It's leaves have a tasty buttery texture. Butterhead type lettuces grow quickly and can handle poorer growing conditions.

Crisphead
Crisphead type lettuces have large hearts of tightly overlapped, crisp leaves and are more resistant to going to seed early. Sometimes also known as 'cabbagehead' lettuce.

Looseleaf
Looseleaf types of lettuce are delicate, tender and mildly flavoured. Perfect for a summer salad.
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Don't have a garden?
You can also grow lettuces in growbags or containers – follow the sowing timings and spacing & your ready to go. (Apartment living doesn't mean no Veggies!)
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Sow
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Time of sowing :

For a summer/autumn crop:

• Where: Sow Outdoors
• When:  Late March to Late July

For an even earlier crop:

• Where :Sow Indoors
• When: Early February in seed trays, plant them out in early March
• How: Under cloches, plastic tunnels, Garden Fleece Tunnel, Grow Bag or Protected Containers 

For an early winter crop:

• Where: Sow Outdoors
• When: Early August cover in late September.
• How: Cover the plants with closed cloches (Plant protection Methods mentioned above) etc

For a spring crop:

• Sow a cultivar in September / October either in a cold greenhouse or outside under cloches, plastic tunnels, Garden Fleece Tunnel, Grow Bag or Protected Containers in mild areas.​  ( *A cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant species. ​)

Mrs Joly's Advice & Notes :
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In the summer we can have higher soil temperatures and this can prevent some cultivars from germinating & growing . 
Top Tips :                         

• Sow in the evening
• Water with cold water

• Shade will also help to keep soil temperatures down

Drop into our Garden Centre to get advice off our experts on how to grow your perfect    Salad and Garden,