Lettuce, I need to thin these out right?

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babygirl5151999 Waukegan, IL Apr 18, 2009

I have lettuce growing (well sprouting). I got a little too seed happy and planted like 20 seeds in one container (they are small LOL). So when do I start thinning them, do I do it now or when? And how many should I leave in there?

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Wulfsden Riverdale, NJ(Zone 6a) Apr 18, 2009

Hi babygirl5151999. It depends on the type of lettuce. Head lettuce, like buttercrunch or bibb need room for a head to develop --- that's usually 1 plant per 6-8" pot. However, a lot of people (me included) deliberately plant leaf type lettuce like royal oakleaf, or red salad bowl, with 20-30 seeds in an 8 inch pot. The dense pack seeding eliminates the need to weed. This is often called cut-and-come-again, since you cut the lettuce 1" from the ground when it is about 5" tall. It will regrow. You get about 3 super-tender harvests before you need to reseed.

Ed

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Gymgirl SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a) Apr 20, 2009

Hey Ed. Somebody sent me a mystery mix Parisian Romaine and Bib lettuce. I can't recall the variet offhand. What you just said causes me 2 wonder what's gonna happen if I don't know what I've sown. I'll be using 24" containers. Thinking I may have to sow REALLY lightly. Will I be able to tell them apart early on? The Romaine type is my favorite so once I identify I can sacrifice the bib. LMK. Thanks. Linda

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Wulfsden Riverdale, NJ(Zone 6a) Apr 20, 2009

I think I have some baby romaine in my C&CA mix. I may be way off base here but in NJ, I usually plant romaine in early spring and bibb in summer, since it is supposedly better at not bolting. I am not sure how this info translates into zone 9a realities.

Ed

Post #6438746
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Gymgirl SE Houston (Hobby), TX(Zone 9a) Apr 21, 2009

Lettuce here is a cole crop, so I'll be stagger planting out every 3 weeks from Sept. to Dec. Actually, I could start some inside then I'd know what I have.

Thanks, Ed

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