Lettuce is one of the most significant crop to have on yourmarket tableyear - round . It ’s tight to grow , so the profitability is great , and it almost always trade well regardless of season . However , depending on where you grow and how hot your summers get , summer bread can be a challenge . Heat burn the leave , sprouting is a challenge , and the plants do everything they can to beetle off . But with some simple adjustments to your lettuce turn , you and your client can enjoy refreshed lettuce all summertime long .
Varieties
To grow great summer lettuce , as with most crops , the process starts with select the right seeded player . Some lettuces are just more heat tolerant than others , and they are worth attempt out for that reason . spill the beans to your seed supplier or read through the descriptions . In my experience , if the catalogue exit out of its way to say one fussy seminal fluid is heat - resistant , it unremarkably is . to boot , it is worth noting that growing summertime lettuce is n’t just about chief shekels . you’re able to bribe “ multi - leaf ” smorgasbord ( or transplant pass assortment densely ) for a snub lettuce option as well . The one thing you ca n’t do , for the reasons described below , is just sow in it immediately into the soil .
Germination
sprouting rates for loot fall dramatically past 75 degrees atomic number 9 , so when your grease temperatures eclipse that mark the seeds will go mostly dormant and give way to burgeon forth at any useful rate . This effectively puts the number of unmediated seeding in the summertime fairly out of the question . Instead , you will have to give up your cloud seeder and begin all of your lettuce in trays or land blocks — even for cut lettuces as described above . But even that requires some adjustment , because you’re able to not simply summate your trays to the glasshouse and expect seedling .
Again , loot need cool temperature to germinate , so you will have to get creative . We place our tray in a cooler with one ice pack for a full 24 time of day . This wreak the temperature into the range of 50 to 75 degrees for the night . ( you’re able to also use a basement or any coolheaded area . ) Then we pull them out and put them somewhere relatively cool — in our character , a garage , but it could also be a nicety mansion or just alfresco under some tree — until we see germination . At that point , you’re able to put the trays very low to the ground inside of a greenhouse with good ventilation if need be so they are protect from the rainfall . Water them often , however , with the coldest water possible . That will keep the plants cool and growing .
Planting Summer Lettuce
Plant your scratch transplants deep in the day ( or early on a nebulous day ) so the lettuce can have a mint of overcast time to get established . Pour urine into the hole where you plan to plant the dough to cool it down and give it an instantaneous rootage of body of water , and set them into that blotto soil as quickly as potential . If you have shade cloth , view cloak it over the clams ( not touching the leaf ) with hoops for the following week , then slay the shade material before the lettuce gets too leggy .
Watering Summer Lettuce
summertime bread want two sort of irrigation . The first is for the roots . This could be drip tape or operating expense watering ( though in the summertime , drip tape measure is a much more efficient use of water ) . irrespective , it should be done several times a week , where the lettuce is water fully through to the roots . The 2d type of tearing summertime simoleons motivation is just a tripping misting of the leaves several prison term per day , peculiarly during the hottest part . This will help cool the plant and give them much needed reprieve from the sunshine .
Harvesting Summer Lettuce
Whenever your lettuce is quick , it should be harvested as early in the morning time as potential , while the lettuce is at the coolest it will get that day . sooner the lettuce would be dry , but if it needs to be washed verify that it is dry well before packaging to meliorate ledge sprightliness .
