How to Grow Romaine Lettuce

There are a lot of varieties of lettuce used when making a green salad. One of the most common and tasty type is the Romaine lettuce.  It is simple and fast to grow. Furthermore, it’s easy to harvest.

Steps:

1.       Find and acquire romaine seeds. You can find these seeds in the various home and garden or grocery stores. Also, an online garden store may be an option. The number of romaine seeds depends on how many you plan to plant.

2.       Before planting the seeds, you have to prepare first the place where you plan to plant them. This is called a garden bed. This is done by putting organic materials into the soil. This will add nutrients that the lettuce needs. Also, the location of your garden bed must be somewhere where the plants may get around five hours of sun every day.

3.       Weeks before you plan to plant incorporate the desired fertilizer. Make sure that the desired fertilizer is the suitable kind for lettuce. Review the manufacturer’s instruction manual for proper use and storage.

4.       After weeks of preparing the garden bed, now you are ready to plant.  Plant the seeds by directly sowing them into the prepared beds.  Plant it in rows, making sure to spread the seeds as thinly as possible. With a very thin layer of loose soil, cover the then the seeds. You may also transplant a lettuce if you don’t want to use seed. The downside however for this process is that the chances of transplant shock is high which will result to your lettuce dying. To avoid this, do your transplant when it is cold or during early morning and evening.

5.       As your lettuce is growing, make sure that your garden bed is weed free. These weeds tend to compete with the growth of your lettuce. The weeds will take up the fertilizers which will lessen the amount that goes to your lettuce.

6.       In order to obtain a crisp and sweet lettuce, grow it in a fast pace. Abundant water is needed side by side with a great choice of fertilizer.

7.       In around 65-70 days, the romaine lettuce will reach its maturity. By then, you can start harvesting your romaine lettuce. The right way to harvest is to pick the outer leaves first leaving the inner leaves to grow for another round of harvesting. Though it may not be as beautiful as the first harvest, still it can be used.  This is the reason why it is better to start a new set of plant to maintain a good quality.

8.       Clean and wash the romaine lettuce as soon as possible and pat it dry. Cover it with paper towels and place it in a freezer storage bag.  Keep it refrigerated.

Tips and Warnings:

·         If you plan on transplanting, start to grow it indoor in a pot. As you transplant, make sure that adequate space must be provided for each lettuce. It must be done during a cold weather, if possible during the cloudy days.

·         Romaine loves the cool weather and a lot of moisture in the soil. Watering it is very essential especially if it doesn’t rain often.

Growing a Romaine lettuce will not only allow you an easy access to this nutritious and delicious vegetable, it will also teach you a lot about the basics of growing a plant.