The Iowa Gardener: Love lettuce? Time to grow your own

Back home on the farm, my mom grew only one kind of lettuce. It was always leaf lettuce (Black Seeded Simpson, in fact) and it was always prepared one way: Wilted lettuce salad with bacon.

I adored it, but these days I'm finding there's a whole world of lettuce that most gardeners don't explore. Lettuce is cheap to grow (yet expensive to buy in the store), is ready to harvest in about three weeks, doesn't take much space, and is good for you — so have fun!

WHAT LETTUCE TO GROW

Head lettuce is tricky to grow, even in ideal conditions, and Iowa does not have ideal conditions for lettuce.

So stick to leaf-type lettuce. There are 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).

Iowa garden centers are doing a much better job these days of keeping interesting lettuce seed in stock. Or you can order online.

HOW TO GROW LETTUCE

— Lettuce does best in cool, moist weather — like the weather found in March, April and September in Iowa.

— All lettuce needs full sun, at least eight hours of direct, unfiltered light a day. Sure, some folks say they can take shade — and in some cases in Iowa lettuce 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.

— Lettuce likes rich, loose soil. Work plenty of compost into the soil at planting time. (Raised beds are ideal for lettuce 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. Lettuce thrives 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 lettuce tends to be bitter.

— With those later plantings, choose lettuce that bills itself as 'heat-tolerant' so it doesn't go bitter in the heat, the way lettuce can. Lettuce is 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 lettuce. If the weather is hot, however, germination can be iffy.

HOW TO HARVEST

— It's critical to harvest lettuce young, before it bolts — that is, start getting long stalks. At that point, it is bitter and should be pulled out.

— I like to harvest leaf lettuce with the cut-and-come-again method: Just cut off leaves when they are 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 lettuce. Plunge the lettuces in a pan or sink of cold water and let sit for about 5 to 10 minute 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