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The Iowa Gardener: Growing your own lettuce
It’s easier than you think.
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For a lot of us growing up, the only home-grown lettuce we might have had was probably the large-leafed lettuce — Black Seeded Simpson, in fact — and it was always prepared one way: as wilted lettuce salad with bacon. These days, there are far more lettuces to choose from that grow well in our area. And they're especially useful to grow as grocery prices continue to go up, up, up. Lettuces are fast and easy to grow, don't take up much space, and are fun to experiment with.
The best lettuces for Iowa
Mainly, just avoid head lettuces. Head lettuces — like growing a whole head of iceberg or romaine — are tricky to grow, even in ideal conditions. And Iowa does not have ideal conditions for lettuce.
So stick to leaf-type lettuces and you'll have hundreds to choose from. I like the mesclun-type best. But play around with the red-leaved type (Rouge d'Hiver is a favorite) as well as the interesting Asian types (tatsoi is delicious!) Or go for a local, easy-to-grow favorite, the Amish “Deer Tongue” lettuce.
I've had the best luck with lettuces planted as seeds, directly into the ground. Iowa garden centers are doing a much better job these days of keeping interesting lettuce seed in stock. Or order online.
How to grow
- Lettuces do best in cool, moist weather — like the weather found in March, April and September in Iowa.
- All lettuces need full sun, at least 8 hours of direct, unfiltered light a day. They will tolerate a little afternoon shade — but our northern sun is indirect enough that all our veggies usually need all the sun they can get.
- Another reason to plant lettuces in full sun: it discourages slugs, the worst pest for lettuces. Slugs thrive in cool, moist shade.
- Also beware bunnies. Rabbits love lettuces. If you find they're bothering yours, cover them with chicken wire, bent like a dome to protect the lettuces. Be sure to tuck the ends of the wires into the soil for a couple of inches to prevent the rabbits from burrowing under.
- Lettuces like rich, loose soil. Work plenty of compost into the soil at planting time. Raised beds are ideal for lettuces since the soil thaws early and you can create excellent soil in them.
- Plant in early spring, a week or two after you can easily work the soil. Lettuces thrive in cool weather. Replant small batches every two weeks thereafter to assure longer harvest times. I'd stop planting in May.
- Keep well watered for the most tender, flavorful lettuces. Water-stressed lettuces tend to be bitter.
- With those later plantings, choose lettuces that bill themselves as "heat-tolerant" so they don't go bitter in the heat, the way lettuces can. They’re a good choice for Iowa, where our spring stretches of cool but not cold weather can be short.
- In early September, try your hand at a fall planting of lettuces. If the weather is hot, however, germination can be iffy.
How to harvest lettuces
- It's critical to harvest lettuces young, before they bolt — that is, start getting long stalks. At that point, they are bitter and should be pulled out.
- I like to harvest leaf lettuces with the cut-and-come-again method: just cut off the leaves when they're a few inches tall to about 1-inch high. They'll grow back two or three times. No additional seed or planting time needed!
- Wash the heck out of lettuces. Plunge the lettuces in a pan or sink of cold water and let sit for about five to 10 minutes to drown any insects. Then rinse multiple times and spin in a salad spinner, or on paper towels on the countertop. (Dressing sticks best to dry lettuce.)
Veronica Lorson Fowler is co-publisher of The Iowa Gardener website at www.theiowagardener.com.
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