Planting lettuce, planting pots, 2-24-2010

by Farmer Dave
(Northern California)

In Northern California its time for planting lettuce in planting pots or flats. If you live where it is starting to feel like spring (at least on the warm days) you can start planting under a cloche, cold frame or green house.

I am in Northern California and at this time of year it can feel like spring one day and be snowing the next.

I like to start some planting pots or flats for my early spring lettuce. I start them in a green house or under a cloche. If you planted a garden cloche in the fall and have some greens left you can just put your new flat right in with the rest of your winter greens.

My favorite green house lettuce is "Bronze Arrow" which is also called Oak leaf by some seed companies. It also grows really well outside when it warms up a bit. I am planting lettuce varieties for both the green house and cold frame and for outside planting. Once it warms up I will have some little lettuce to plant into my outside beds.

I will be planting Red leaf lettuce for outside planting. This one flat will give me a good start and then in a couple weeks when they are up and growing I will start another flat. It is easy to grow too many greens so it is best to do succession plantings.

Planting lettuce about every two to three weeks from mid-February to mid April works good in our climate. That usually gives us a steady supply of lettuce from mid April to mid July. During the summer it is quite hot. To keep our lettuce sweet we have to sprinkle them every day in the heat. Even then it is not worth growing lettuce in the later part of the summer. We are lucky to have lots of water. If we had limited water we would have to stop growing lettuce in the beginning of summer.

Keep it sweet, good to eat!
Farmer Dave