Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
done in January if you put them in a propagator) and keep in a slug-free location
until they are large enough to transplant. Make sure the modules are never
allowed to dry out.
If you are confident that slugs are unlikely to be a problem, sowing direct allows
you to eat the thinnings before the plants would otherwise be ready. Draw shallow
drills 15cm apart (for picking) or 30cm apart (for cutting) and water them before
sowing the seed thinly, then barely cover with fine seedling compost and give
just a sprinkling of water to settle it. People sometimes report poor germination
from summer sowings, but this is usually because the surface of the soil has
dried out. In hot, dry weather it is better to make the drills a little deeper - perhaps
up to 1cm. Thin the seedlings to the required spacing once they are big enough
to harvest as baby leaves.
Growing
Keep the area around the lettuces free of competing growth and any debris to
minimise hiding places for slugs and other pests. Always keep the soil moist; a
good soak every few days is better than frequent light watering, as the latter suits
slugs just as well as it does lettuces. If you want to give them a boost, an occa-
sional treat with an organic seaweed-based foliar feed such as SM3 (Chase
Organics, available from The Organic Gardening Catalogue - see Resources sec-
tion) will do the trick.
In very cold weather frost damage can also be a problem, so choose your varieties
carefully. Even frost-hardy varieties benefit from the added protection of a
horticultural fleece during cold snaps; for best results, use hoops or other sup-
ports to keep the fleece off the leaves (see Chapter 7, page 59).
Harvesting and storage
There are two ways of harvesting lettuce. The first, favoured by commercial
growers because it is practical on a large scale, is to cut off a whole mature head
of lettuce just above ground level. The second is successive picking, which is
perfectly practical provided that you live within easy reach of your plot, although
it is not suitable for lettuces specially bred to produce tight heads (notably ice-
bergs). This method of harvesting provides higher yields per plant with much less
damage from slugs and moulds, and also extends the harvest over a longer
period. This means there is no need to sow so often: three or four sowings should
see you through the whole year. This type of harvesting is sometimes referred to
as 'cut and come again', but this is a misnomer since the plants can recover from
the ragged breaks of picking much more easily than they can from the clean cuts
made with a knife.
Instead of cutting a single mature head of lettuce for your salad, pick the outer
leaves from several plants, making sure you leave at least four young leaves
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search