The Easy-To-Grow Vegetable That'll Make A Great Addition To Any Garden

Many people love the idea of having a garden and growing their own food. Not all vegetables are easy to grow successfully, especially if you are a newbie gardener. Having the right gardening tools will help you get started on the right foot if you are a beginner, but starting with an easy-to-grow vegetable is also helpful. One of the best vegetables to start with is lettuce. This versatile veggie comes in many different varieties including romaine, iceberg, red leaf, green leaf, and butterhead, and has a lot of uses from sandwiches to salads.

Lettuce does equally well planted in containers on your patio as it does directly in the garden, which makes it a nice choice for any garden scenario. Although lettuce grows the best in full sun, it handles light shade well and will still produce nice results especially if you find a planting spot that offers afternoon shade. The best time to start planting lettuce is in the spring or fall because this plant prefers cooler temperatures, so if you live in a warm climate, planting in February to April in the spring, and September to November in the fall will produce the best results. 

There are many tips for growing a successful garden that can help you have a great harvest. Learn your plant hardiness zone so you know when the best time is to plant your lettuce and any other vegetables. Plant your lettuce in rows about two feet apart with the plants spaced 10 inches apart for leaf lettuce, and space varieties such as crisphead and iceberg 12 inches apart in rows 20-30 inches apart. Use potting soil directly over the seeds to prevent any problems with the soil crusting over and affecting seed growth.

Lettuce plants have shallow roots and should be watered frequently. Check the soil at least twice every week, and if it is dry beyond an inch down, add water. You will need to water lettuce planted in raised beds and containers more often than those planted directly into the garden, shooting for three inches of depth versus one inch.

There are several ways to harvest lettuce. You can cut several leaves from the plants as you need them, or you can harvest the entire head or bunch at one time. If you take a few leaves at a time from the outer areas of the plant, you can go back and take more later, a process known as the cut-and-come-again method.