How to Grow Big Heads of Lettuce in Early Spring
You don’t need to wait until the last frost to get started planting your lettuce and other greens. There is a fast track to big early harvests.
Here are my top 3 ways to help you get the most out of your greens, and your growing season.
Start Those Seeds Indoors
It’s not as common as starting tomatoes or peppers from seed, but lettuce and other greens can actually transplant quite well into your garden.
When started indoors through February and March, you can guarantee you’ll see plenty of healthy greens before the heat of summer when these plants slow down.
The seeds will typically germinate in about a week to ten days. I will continue to grow them out in this same container and do very little or even no thinning.
By the beginning to middle of April in my climate, I can start taking the seedlings out to the garden. I will pop the whole thing out of the pot, and then gently brush away dirt to break them up. Plant the seedlings in your garden and water in.
You can plant in small clumps and thin them out as they grow or plant the strongest ones independently. Leave enough spacing for the size of lettuce heads you expect.
Remember, we over sowed the seeds on purpose. It’s ok to not plant them all. Focus on the strongest looking seedlings and you’ll have the best chances of large healthy plants.
