here is what you would do...........
I need someone to finish that sentence for me. I can put them inside under lights. I can put them in a raised bed as seed. It's already very sunny here with cool nights. I can do pretty good, but I'm not getting enough to go. Only about a third of my seeds start. I did find out they shouldn't be on the heat mat. What else?
For perfect propagation and growing of lettuce
I have success sowing outdoors in zone 8a. The seed are sowed very shallow being only lightly covered and watered gently. Good germination, I have been doing pots of three or four varieties for the past month and a half.
I have always had good luck with direct sowing--spread a bunch of seed on prepared soil and then thin once they come up--you can wait until they are baby green size and harvest them then to thin and let the others grow on into full size plants
Wow, that was fast. I'll get going in the a.m. Thanks.
I guess they don't really need to be in neat rows then either if you just spread and thin. Am I understanding?
this will only be my second year trying lettuce however i have had 6 head that have survived the entire winter in a raised bed outside.
I just tried to keep it covered at night if I thought we were having a heavy frost.
but it survived 3 days under snow last week, we had 8 inches
I guess it depends on how neat you want them--I don't put in rows, just sow directly into a raised bed--if you are growing a lot, then rows are probably better as you would want space to walk between them--I am no expert, but it works for me :~)
I've not grown head lettuce just loose leaf and sow thinly and thin more when they are large enough. When I've planted in ground, I planted rows about a foot wide.
I don't walk in these boxes. They are 4 x 8. I am worried that the top of the soil will dry in the sun, I will have to watch that very close. I'm going for Romaine. I think I'll try dusting the top of the seeds with seed starter instead of the top soil. Just a thought. And I'll just spread them and thin later. Sounds like a fun experiment.
If your germination rate is low, maybe it's the seeds? Maybe you should try a pack of seeds from another company, to see what happens?
I started mine under lights (which is probably a little warmer than lettuce likes) and they popped right up. (I don't like how I sowed them so close together, though.)
I'll bet you could grow all winter in zone 9a--lettuce doesn't like the heat though so some shade helps in the summer
Great thread! Thanks for the tips. I always find lettuce outside to be intimidatig, though I do grow it inside on the indow sill all winter. It likes the bright sun and coolish window temps.
Wow, I think I'll try it this winter inside.
I planted the seeds directly in the bed, we shall see. I keep looking to see if they sprouted yet, nothing. I guess it was too much to hope for a 6 hour germination. lol
LOL! If you do find seeds that germinate in 6 hours, please post about it!
I have wintersown lettuce, the sproutlets are almost ready to plant out now..... they will be container grown. I am hoping to keep them as long as possible into summer as I know they don't like hot too much..... my first year growing lettuce, so far so good. ;-) -- Kyla
I would bet you can plant outside all winter in 9a--it can even take freezing--mine was out in 7a last winter
I've directed seeded lettuce into pots and it's doing pretty well. The biggest lettuce plant I have is a Devil's Ear and I must have dropped a seed on the ground over the septic tank because that is where it is growing. I won't be eating that lettuce by the way. Eww! But I am going to see how big it will get.
I have read that lettuce is one of the few veggies that need light to germinate. I grow Romaine and just lay the seeds on top of the coconut coir, mist with water and cover with a dome. No heat mat. I usually get 95 to 100 % germination. I plant romaine every two weeks and have so since August.
BocaBob
Did you notice my coir, bob? It seems to be working out well so far.
bb - could you please refresh me on the coir? Aside from the actual seed starting, and immediate potting up, what do you add to it for growing? Do you mix w/compost and add fertilizer, or use it au natural?
I have the same question, sequee. It's going to be at least a month before I get these seedlings/plants outdoors. Can they survive on coir alone for that long?
Sorry for the threadjack, 2busy. Let us know how your lettuce does. I'm growing romaine for the first time, so I'll let you know if I find out anything along the way.
indy_v
SURE DID !!!!
Sequee and indy_v
I'm a purist and use the coconut coir straight. Let it be known that you can mix anything with it or even just use it as a soil conditioner. As for me and the results I'm getting, I'm very happy using it straight. Remember, there are no nutrients in the coir so you have to feed your plants a complete balanced diet. I use a water soluble fert 1/2 strength starting a week after germination.
BocaBob
I grow lettuce outdoors very successfully here in zone 4b. It will stand frosts down to minus 5 Celsius. I guess to some extent it depends on variety; but lettuce seed won't germinate in a temperature over 21 Celsius and prefers it even cooler. During a hot summer in Devon, England, I've even germinated it successfully in the fridge! Sow in late evening when the ground is cool, and water your drill first with water out of the fridge.
A good link is:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/lettuce1.html
Great inof, bb - thanks!
Fabulous link, pat. I Bookmarked it for future use!
so did I , thanks!!!
No problem on the hijack. I love all the info I can get. :)
I hadn't thought of using water from the fridge!
drill?