Lettuce

Common Name: Lettuce

Botanical Name: Lactuca sativa

When to Sow: All year round

Planting Position: Rich soil, and part shade in hot Summers

Days to Germinate: 7 - 14 days

Ready to Harvest: 6-8 weeks

Lifespan: Annual - Lasts one year.

Fertilise: Feed weekly with a liquid fertiliser

Great Idea!

Make your own bunless burger!

Everybody enjoys a good burger, but if you want to ditch the carbs, simply create your own healthy burger by replacing the bun with fresh crispy lettuce leaves.

Fold the lettuce leaves as a base and stack with your favourite burger ingredients like a juicy meat paddy, tomato, onion, dill, cheese, pickles and salsa. Yum!

About Lettuce: Even though lettuce can be grown throughout the year, lettuce is essentially a cool season plant and prefer a partially shaded spot especially if you are in an area prone to hot Summers. A good trick is to plant some 'living shade' next to your small lettuce plants like sweet corn that grow tall and shade your lettuce from the hot sun.

Tips for growing: Sow a few seeds every 2 weeks to have a continuous supply of fresh salad greens. This is known as successive planting and perfect for quick cropping vegetables like lettuce.

Companion Plants - plant Lettuce with: Lettuce benefits from being planted with: coriander, broccoli, carrots, onions and flowers. Lettuce can grow happily amongst your flower seedlings who needs weeds when you can have garden fresh lettuces!

Warnings: Avoid growing near beans, beetroot, celery or parsley