Lettuce plant: description and benefits of lettuce. Varieties of salads: varieties and descriptions

" Salad

Mother Nature is pleased to bring a good salad to our table to help combat the annual vitamin deficiency that plagues us on spring days. This fast-growing annual is one of the main suppliers useful components. Crispy foliage plays the role of that extraordinary zest that can harmoniously decorate a meat, fish, or cheese dish. An important feature of greenery is that it can be cultivated all year round. And quite often, gardeners who have harvested an early harvest re-sow the seeds of this crop in open ground.

Leaf lettuce is an annual plant that tolerates cold weather well. Seeds produce their first shoots even at four to five degrees Celsius and survive light frosts without problems. Mature plants are even more resilient and can withstand six degrees of frost in the garden and in the country.

The root system is well branched, located in most cases near the soil surface. The color of lettuce bushes varies from light green to dark purple. By the time of ripening, a flower stalk grows from the central part of the rosette. Later, inflorescences in the form of baskets are formed on it, numbering from fifteen small flowers. Flowering can last no more than a month.

In Russia, leaf lettuce is very popular, known for its tender and juicy leaves and short ripening time. It is recommended to be eaten at any time of the year.

The crop is grown without any particular difficulties. It is enough to set aside one or two beds for it, on which you can harvest several crops. During the summer season, lettuce bushes have time to grow and produce seed material.

For open ground

false powdery mildew;
internal necrosis;

It grows well in unprotected beds and in greenhouses. For open ground, lettuce is recommended for cultivation from mid-spring to autumn.

Ruksai is another salad plant with a late (up to fifty days) ripening period. The rosette is open, loose, reaches twenty centimeters in height. Rounded foliage of a reddish hue, with a slight purple. The head of cabbage weighs about four hundred grams. Taste characteristics are expressed by brightly spicy and nutty notes.

Gascony is a mid-early plant with a growing season of forty-five to forty-eight days. The rosettes are compact, reaching thirty-five centimeters in diameter. The average weight is five hundred grams. The variety perfectly resists flowering and the most common diseases. Excellent cultivation in open ground conditions.

Leafy early ripening

Sandwich is an excellent variety of leaf lettuce with early ripening. Grows equally well in greenhouse conditions and in open beds. The foliage is light green, tender, and contains a large amount of vitamins and mineral components.

Firebird is an early ripening plant that can produce a harvest one and a half months after sowing. The rosettes are large, ruby red, the foliage is tender and crispy. The foliage contains many vitamins and mineral salts.

Grand is early ripening, produces a harvest in forty to forty-five days after the appearance of the first shoots. The foliage is large, curly, juicy, the rosettes are highly uniform. The variety is known for its resistance to K6.

floweriness;
necrosis;
marginal burns.

Kitezh is an early ripening salad plant, forming erect rosettes, the height and diameter of which reach twenty-five centimeters. The foliage is medium sized, oblong, reddish in color. The wavy edges have small cuts in the apical parts. Taste qualities The lettuce is excellent, the yield reaches two and a half kilograms per square meter of bed.

Without bitterness for the garden

Lollo bionda is considered one of the popular and beautiful salad types. The foliage is soft and goes well with hot dishes, sauces, baked vegetables, fried meat. It can be a good decoration for any dish or garden bed.

Batavia– includes a number of varieties, united by common features:

leafly;
risotto;
greenie;
fanley;
country house;
jumble;
Prague residents

The rosettes are large, semi-spreading, the foliage has slight wavy edges. The salad is delicious, slightly sweet, and perfectly complements meat dishes. Recently, the variety has become popular with many gardeners.

Oakleaf - owes its name to the appearance of the foliage. The plant is recognized by its color shades and taste, distinguished by the presence of nutty notes. Is an excellent addition to hot salads, snacks, fish dishes. Due to the increased sensitivity of the foliage to temperature changes, the salad should not be stored for more than a few hours.

Corn - forms small leaves of a dark green hue, creating rosettes. The taste is sweetish, with nutty notes, and a slight spiciness is felt. You can plant it in the country house or balcony.

Oily is a varietal variety of head lettuce. The leaves are smooth and feel oily to the touch due to the high amount of vitamin E. Previously, this lettuce was grown for its oil. The foliage is juicy, with a sweetish aftertaste.

Lettuce is considered an unpretentious plant; it does not have any special requirements for cultivation. Having determined the most suitable varieties for yourself, you can plant every year and have several harvests of plants enriched with vitamins and other useful components.

Fresh, chilled, crisp salads are a delicious treat. Varied in leaf shape and color, these annual fast-growing vegetables are mainly used fresh. In almost any garden there is a place for head lettuce. It is very unpretentious and grows in almost any soil. It takes very little knowledge to harvest lettuce throughout the summer season. It is better to plant several different types of lettuce, and then there will be a wide selection of this vegetable with very different leaves in shape and color. Today we will also tell you what types of lettuce there are and how it should be grown.

The best varieties of lettuce

Roundhead lettuce itself is round, like cabbage, with widely spread, smooth leaves, and is a representative of the head lettuce varieties. It grows very quickly and does not require special care.

Crispy lettuce forms a large head of rolled leaves that are crisp to the taste. Particularly popular is the Iceberg variety with thick, fleshy leaves - an excellent variety of head lettuce.

Many people wonder how to grow Romaine lettuce - all of its elongated, oblong and crispy leaves grow vertically upward. it takes longer to ripen than other salads and requires plenty of watering.

Curly lettuce - it produces many leaves without a core. You can simply tear off a few leaves for the salad, leaving the whole bush for further growth. It has beautiful curly leaves that appear throughout the summer.

Also very popular among gardeners is the cultivation of arugula and watercress, corn salad, frillis lettuce and lettuce.

Growing Iceberg Lettuce

The Iceberg lettuce variety is similar in appearance to white cabbage; it has juicy, crisp, greenish-whitish leaves that are collected in a large head. The weight of one head of Iceberg lettuce can reach 1 kilogram or more. The features of cultivation, as well as storage and use in cooking are exactly the same as for other types of lettuce.

In order to obtain a lettuce harvest throughout the season, it is necessary to carry out the first plantings with an interval of two weeks (during the first 3 plantings), summer plantings (sowings) should be carried out with a shortened interval - 1 week, and the last two with an interval of two weeks, as in beginning of the season.

Soil requirements

For growing lettuce in open ground, well-fertilized soil with drainage that contains the necessary mineral supplements is best suited. The soil should not be too acidic. It is necessary to constantly maintain its humidity. It is recommended to plant lettuce on the sunny side where there are no drafts.

For spring planting, carefully dig up the soil in the fall, adding well-rotted compost or fertilizer. Before planting, loosen the soil well and add mineral fertilizers.

Planting lettuce

Depending on the available space in the garden, choose a method for growing lettuce on your plot. We also recommend reading our article on how to grow lettuce in a greenhouse. In this section we will tell you about the technology of growing lettuce.

Planting seedlings

You can grow it yourself or buy seedlings at the market.

Sowing seeds under glass

Lettuce seeds are sown in small cups filled with compost, two seeds in each, and watered generously. Place the cups in the greenhouse.

When the seeds sprout, remove the weaker plant. Ventilate the greenhouse daily or leave it open for several hours a day so that the plants gradually get used to the environment. When the plants are old enough to transplant, plant them in the ground.

Sowing seeds in the ground

When sowing seeds in open ground, prepare holes with a diameter of 5 mm. Sow the seeds at different times so that you can harvest from early spring to mid-summer. Plant the grown sprouts at a distance of 7.5 cm from each other. Thin the lettuce periodically. Water the plants regularly, weed and loosen the soil.

Placing lettuce in the garden

There are 2 ways to grow leaf lettuce, which allow you to economically use garden space.

The first method, when the lettuce is placed on separate beds, ensures maximum yield in the shortest possible time. For example, you can sow Romaine lettuce seeds 2.5 cm apart in rows spaced 10 cm apart. It is recommended to start sowing in mid-spring and every two weeks until the end of spring. Don't thin out the plants—the method involves growing large quantities of densely growing lettuce. Leaves are cut 4-6 weeks after sowing. Leave the roots and stem to get another harvest in 5-6 weeks.

For a small garden, a joint method is suitable; in this case, the lettuce is placed between previously planted vegetables or herbs, which grow slower than the lettuce. For example, you can plant lettuce between parsnips or carrots. By the time they sprout, the salad will already be large. Head lettuce can be a tomato sealer. In this case, it is planted after the tomato seedlings in 2 rows along the edge of the bed in a checkerboard pattern. The salad looks great between roses or other flowers in the garden, especially varieties with red leaves.

Growing lettuce at home

Growing lettuce is also possible at home, so to speak, on the windowsill and, what is most interesting, there is nothing difficult about it. People who grow lettuce at home willingly share their experience, which we can use freely and absolutely free of charge.

So, how to grow lettuce at home? To do this, the culture needs to create special conditions, and only then will the salad delight you with its greens and unique taste.

First of all, you need to prepare the right place for growing lettuce, that is, a container. It can be a rectangular box, but remember that the box should not be too modest so that the soil in it does not dry out very quickly. The best option is to plant lettuce in small boxes, say 60x60 cm or 60x80 cm, the depth of which should be approximately 10-12 cm.

Next, we need to choose the right soil, otherwise nothing good will come of it. Experts advise choosing the following composition - humus, turf soil and sand, in a 2-2-1 ratio. Also, you can always purchase specially prepared soil in wildlife stores, unless, of course, you have the opportunity to get and mix it for free. Now, this composition must be compacted into boxes ready for planting lettuce and poured a little with warm water with potassium permanganate, a very light solution. Afterwards, make grooves for planting lettuce, 1-1.5 cm deep and a distance between them of about 10-12 cm. Now you can sow the lettuce, but you should not do this too fanatically, keep some distance between the seeds, since only in this way In this case, good and strong shoots will appear. After sowing, it is necessary to carry out additional watering using warm water.

Before the first shoots appear, the boxes with seeds should be in a dark place, but after they appear on the surface, the boxes should move to a bright place. During the germination period, do not forget to spray the soil with warm water from a regular spray bottle, this will speed up the process.

Further, only proper care, which is considered the simplest. You don’t need to spend a lot of time choosing fertilizers and loosening, you just have to water the lettuce often, and then it will grow quickly. Watering should be done once every 1-2 days, preferably early in the morning or after sunset, so as not to burn or spoil the harvest leaves.

It will be possible to harvest the first harvest in 20-25 days, which is quite fast, which means that during the period of the first shoots, you can sow the next box to ensure uninterrupted production.

Growing lettuce hydroponically

Growing lettuce hydroponically is naturally much more difficult than growing lettuce on a windowsill at home, but the result is much more significant. That is, this method It is no longer suitable for home salad production, but for industrial production. Of course, you can set up a greenhouse or a special room, equip it with expensive equipment and place the seeds in special composition, but such expenses will be unjustified, since in order to get relatively inexpensive salad independent production, it must be collected in very large volumes.

So how do you grow lettuce hydroponically?

First of all, you need to select good seeds for planting, obtained from selected lettuce and properly prepared for sowing. You can’t rush here, otherwise you might miss the mark quite a bit and end up in the dormant period of the seeds.

Seeds that have matured for their time and have undergone special preparation are best planted at temperatures below +20°C. But, if lettuce seeds were prepared specifically for hydroponics, then the best period for planting them will be a hotter time, because such seeds have already expanded temperature limits, which means germination is possible in more ambiguous conditions. Lettuce seeds should be planted immediately after opening the package so that they do not dry out or, conversely, gain moisture. After sowing, the seeds should only be covered with a special film that allows light to pass through, otherwise you will have to wait a very long time for germination.

Now you need to take care of proper nutrition, which should arrive already during the opening of the first leaves. So, the concentration of the solution should be relatively low so that the plants develop faster, but the composition of the solution should be the same as for an adult lettuce that is already being cut.

The concentration of elements in the solution can be very varied, depending on the requirements, conditions, type of lettuce, and so on, but, most often, experts recommend mixture No. 19, containing iron. Concentration of elements: N - 200 mg/l, Mg - 50 mg/l, Ca - 200 mg/l, P -80 mg/l, K - 200 mg/l.

The humidity in the place where the lettuce grows should be kept at 60-80%, and the temperature should not exceed +16+18°C. Otherwise, if the temperature rises, the lettuce leaves become less juicy and bitter, and the plants themselves throw out their flower stalks, which greatly spoils the yield.

Naturally, the temperature and humidity regimes differ significantly if we analyze the cultivation of lettuce from “A” to “Z”, starting with the content of seeds, the germination chamber, seedling tables and tables for growing lettuce for cutting. But here again everything depends on different factors and varieties of lettuce grown.

In addition to all that has been said, not only temperature and humidity must be regulated, but also the flow of CO2 into the room, the shade of plants, the temperature of the nutrient solution, the cleanliness of the air in the room, and so on. All such nuances only indicate that growing lettuce hydroponically is possible, and very simple, but only for specialists and in large quantities.

Of course, there is always the option of making your own hydroponic growing table, mixing a nutrient solution, installing a few lights above the lettuce and even trying to regulate the temperature in the room, but we are pretty sure that hydroponics and home conditions are incompatible, at least if you work for the purpose a good harvest and a reduction in its cost.

Lettuce care

You can grow lettuce in autumn or winter in greenhouses. Of course, you will have to put in a little more effort. select specially bred varieties. To get a harvest from early summer through fall, start sowing lettuce in mid-spring and continue sowing at two-week intervals until mid-summer. This will ensure a stable lettuce harvest from early summer to mid-autumn.

For autumn harvests, select frost-resistant varieties. Plant them in open ground no later than the first week of August. In early autumn, when the plants are stronger, transplant them into a greenhouse.

If you do not transplant the plants into a greenhouse, you should thin them out and cover them with caps in early autumn. While it is sunny and warm outside, the caps are removed and closed at night. The lettuce will produce a harvest in late autumn.

When lettuce is grown in greenhouses, the seeds are sown in early to mid-autumn, and the harvest is harvested in winter until spring.

To obtain high yields, plants need timely loosening of the soil, destruction of weeds and watering. During a period of drought without watering, the lettuce does not set heads, its leaves become rough, bitter, and the flower stem is thrown away. On crops that are not thinned out in a timely manner, heads cannot form and the plants bloom early.

Harvesting

Head lettuce is eaten when a dense core has formed. To determine the degree of readiness, press the core with your finger. If it is dense, the salad can be collected. Harvest early in the morning by cutting the lettuce with a knife or pulling it out by the roots. Place unwanted leaves in compost to rot.

Be careful - lettuce leaves break easily. When there is drought, lettuce throws out long, fragile flower stems; they are bitter and are not eaten. To avoid breaking the plants, try not to touch them when caring. Do not plant many plants in the same place so that you do not have to thin them out very often. All broken plants should be composted immediately.

Pests and diseases

Lettuce is affected by many insects - pests and diseases. However, if the soil is properly prepared, weeding is carried out in a timely manner and watering is carried out in the right dosage, then problems are unlikely to arise. We recommend learning how to use spunbond in garden beds.

Lettuce is the oldest vegetable crop belonging to the genus Lactuca. There are more than 150 species in the world, differing in shape, color, taste and ripening time, although until recently only a few of them were used in vegetable growing.

There are more than 1,000 varieties and hybrids various salads. In our country, the species Lactuca sativa L has become widespread. It originated from the wild weed L. scariola, found in Asia Minor, Central and Southern Europe.

Depending on the morphological characteristics and food purposes lettuce is divided into five varieties.

5 types of salad

lettuce;
lettuce;
stem lettuce;
romaine or Roman lettuce;
head lettuce.

Leaf lettuce

Lettuce forms a leaf rosette without a head. The leaves are used for food. The species includes varieties with entire, incised and heavily dissected leaves. It differs from other types of lettuce in that it can be grown over several periods.

Peculiarities. Does not tolerate long-term storage and transportation.

Varieties of lettuce for planting: In total, the Register of plant varieties suitable for distribution in Ukraine includes 73 varieties of leaf lettuce of various ripeness groups. In particular, the early Bona variety; early ripening - Golden ball, Raspberry ball; mid-season - Kitare, Constance; late-ripening - Levistro, Concord, Nanette, Platinas, Rubett, Ruksai, etc.

Levistro

Description: late-ripening (growing season 55-60 days) variety of lettuce type Lolla Bionda. The socket is open, medium size. The outer and inner leaves are finely curly, slightly bubbly, dark green, shiny, crisp and juicy. Head weight - up to 500 g.

Peculiarities: Resistant to downy mildew, internal necrosis, and lettuce aphids. Recommended for cultivation in open (from early April to September) and protected ground (all year round).

Ruksai

Description: late-ripening (the growing season lasts about 50 days) variety. The rosette is semi-erect, open, loose, reaches a height of 20 cm. The leaves are round, large, slightly wavy, oily, rich red in color with a purple tint. Head weight - from 400 g.

Peculiarities: The taste is bright, spicy, with nutty notes.

Salad is disruptive

Plucked lettuce is represented by varieties that are characterized by a single, slightly cut plate with a wavy edge. The stem, covered with large, non-coarse leaves, reaches a height of 40-80 cm.

Peculiarities. Varieties of this species are suitable for gradual harvesting. The outer leaves are cut off, the young (inner) leaves are left for growing.

Varieties of pickled lettuces for planting in open ground: The most popular varieties in Ukraine are Abracadabra, Barbados, Vendetta, Gascony, Mercury, and Canyon.

Gascony

Description: mid-early (growing season is 45-48 days) Batavia type variety. The rosette is compact, large, 30-35 cm in diameter. The leaves are green-yellow, wavy, highly indented. The weight of one plant is 450-550 g.

Peculiarities: Resistant to flowering and major diseases of lettuce. This variety of lettuce is recommended for growing in open ground and under temporary film cover.

Canyon

Description: mid-season (growing season about 45 days) Batavia type variety. The rosette is large, 30-35 cm in diameter. The leaves are light anthocyanin, wavy, highly indented. Plant weight - 500-700 g.

Peculiarities: The variety is resistant to flowering and major diseases of lettuce. The leaves taste like lettuce, but remain fresh much longer.

Stem lettuce

Stem lettuce is a type of asparagus salad. In conditions of short daylight hours, it forms a fleshy stem below the rosette, the leaves are hard with a clearly defined central vein. The stem and leaves are eaten.

Driver

Description: the first domestic variety of stem lettuce (originator - National Botanical Garden named after N. N. Grishko NASU), which was created by selecting forms of the local population (originating from China). Its leaves are gray-green, medium thick, elliptical, erect. The leaf blade is uncut. The length of the stem is 40 cm, the length of the leaf is 30 cm, the weight of one rosette of leaves reaches 750 g.

Peculiarities: The variety is characterized by high yield under any climatic conditions.

Romaine lettuce, or Roman type lettuce

This type of lettuce combines the cabbage varieties. This species has a large, vertically located rosette. The leaves are elongated, obovate, harsh. A large, loose, oval head of cabbage forms in the center of the rosette. Half-headed forms are also found.

The best varieties of Roman lettuce: In our country, the most popular varieties for growing in open ground are Scarb, Dendy, Mishutka, Roger, Limpopo.

Dandy

Description: late-ripening (from germination to harvesting of greenery - 75–80 days) variety. The rosette is raised, forms a head of elongated oval shape. The leaves are large, oval, dark green, slightly bubbly, with a smooth edge. The consistency of the leaves is dense and leathery.

Peculiarities: The variety is resistant to flowering, edge burn, relatively drought-resistant, and tolerant of temperature changes.

Limpopo

Description: early ripening (growing season is 65 days) variety of half-headed lettuce. The head of cabbage is oily, flat-round, compact, dense, weighing 380–410 g. The rosette of leaves reaches 27–30 cm in diameter. The leaves are green, slightly wrinkled, with a delicate texture and mild taste.

Peculiarities: Resistant to color fade.

Headed type of lettuce

Head lettuce comes in varieties with oily, crunchy leaves with a coarse consistency. Heads of cabbage are flat-round or round, different sizes. The leaves are round, wide, vesicular.

The best varieties:

Senator, Dude, Laravera, Tsud Voorburgu, Major, Etty, Lento (a total of 19 varieties are registered in the Register).

Senator

Description: early ripening (growing season 70–75 days) variety. Produces large, round, slightly flattened dark green heads of medium to high density. Has excellent taste. High-yielding, unpretentious to growing conditions, tolerates high temperatures well.

Inna Sidorka,
Researcher, Dnepropetrovsk Experimental Station, Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing, NAAS
© Ogorodnik magazine
Photo: depositphotos.com

Latin name— Lactuca sativa L.

Family- Asteraceae.

Genus— Lactuca.

Predecessors– potatoes, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes.

Lighting- light-loving.

Watering- moisture-loving.

The soil– wet soils.

Landing- seeds and seedlings.

Lettuce has been on the table since the Romans. Then they simply tore it into large pieces, salted it, added olive oil and ate it. In the Middle Ages, greens were served as a side dish for meat.

Beneficial properties of lettuce: rich chemical composition

Lettuce leaves are a light and nutritious food. It is not very often added to your diet. But at the same time, the benefits of lettuce are very great. So it’s worth paying close attention to it. In terms of its healing properties, it can give odds to many foods. Greens contain a lot of carotene and carotenoids. The lettuce plant can protect against Alzheimer's disease, improve the condition of the skin and mucous membranes, and preserve vision. It helps in the process of formation of bones and tooth enamel.

It contains almost the same amount of vitamin C as the recognized leader - lemon.

The beneficial properties of lettuce are widely known. His biochemical composition takes its special place among vegetables. The plant contains iron, cobalt, boron, phosphorus, iodine. Copper, minerals, organic acids, sodium, zinc, potassium. It contains a lot of vitamin K. It helps regulate blood clotting. The plant is a source of folic acid. It is necessary for pregnant women. Acid has a positive effect on reproductive function in both sexes. It is also useful for the child's body.

The healing properties of lettuce soothe nervous system, improve sleep.

Types of lettuce

There are about a hundred types of lettuce. We can safely say that among such a variety, every consumer will be able to find one that he likes. They are divided into cabbage and leaf.

Iceberg. It got its name due to its method of transportation. It was covered with ice during delivery. A bit like white cabbage. Its pieces crunch just the same. But their taste is much more tender and pleasant. Greens contain a lot of water.

lettuce also looks a bit like cabbage. To make it crispy, you need to keep it in cold water for some time.

Arugula. A plant with a bitter and spicy taste. Cultivated for over two thousand years. It was very popular back in Ancient Rome. Valued for its high content of vitamin C and carotenoids. Good as an addition to salads, meat dishes and cold appetizers. In Italy it is included in some sauces.

Radicchio red rich in iron and calcium.

Crispy Romaine rich in sodium.

Greenish-red Lollo Rosso and Curly Friese go well with meat dishes.

Romano, which is also called Roman lettuce, is widely known due to the fact that it is included in classic recipe"Caesar". It's spicy and crunchy.

Korn Dark green and curly. Looks very nice in dishes. Well complements the taste of fish and meat.

Each type can be used both as decoration and as an independent product. You shouldn't prepare it in advance. It's best to do this right before serving. It goes well with the taste of lemon and garlic.

Lettuce varieties

The following varieties of lettuce are worthy of attention:

Ballet. Dark green sprouts, fan-shaped, crispy. Resistant to lack of lighting and color fade.

Tornado. Mid-season, crispy variety. Resistant to stemming. Very tasty, fruitful.

Moscow greenhouse. Early ripening. Suitable for growing both in the ground and in a greenhouse.

Dubachik. Mid-season, resistant to flowering. The leaves are oblong, slightly wavy, light green in color. Able to grow new leaves in place of previously cut ones.

Roblen. Mid-season. The rosette is tall, oblong dark red leaves. After harvesting, the leaves grow back.

Dubrava. Mid-season. Light green. Very tasty, attractive in appearance. Gentle.

Fun. Mid-season. Reddish leaves, tender and tasty. 26 cm long. Resistant to various diseases.

Great Lakes. Late ripening head lettuce. Crispy, dark green in color. Color-resistant.

Emerald. Mid-season. The taste is excellent. Grown in soil. Resistant to stemming, retains its properties for a long time marketable condition.

Gribovsky curly. Mid-season, resistant to stemming and diseases. Crispy, crumbly head of excellent taste.

Excitement. Early ripening is 60-70 days. Greens without bitterness, curly, delicate taste. Tolerates light frosts well.

Lolla Rossa. Resistant to shooting. Curly, corrugated leaves. Tender and juicy. Green at the base. Smoothly turning into burgundy color.

The Best Salad Varieties Without Bitterness

Resistant to color fade.

Roblen(Czech Republic) - mid-season (50 days), with a high rosette with a diameter of 26-30 cm. The leaf is oblong, dark red, medium wavy; weight 90 grams.

Collect individual leaves, which grow back.

Dubrava- domestic mid-season variety (60 days), but leaves can be picked much earlier. The rosette is dense, 40 cm in diameter, weighing about 200 grams.

The leaves are light green, slightly wavy along the edges, very tasty, tender, and very attractive in appearance.

Fun- a new domestic variety, mid-season, rosette diameter 40 cm, weight 200 grams. The leaf is reddish, 26 cm long, tasty and tender.

Resistant to diseases. You can pick individual leaves, and from July to October.

Emerald- a new domestic variety, mid-season, grown in the ground, plant weight about 60 grams. It is valuable because it retains its presentation for a long time, is resistant to stemming, and has excellent taste.

Leaf varieties are planted every 30-35 cm; plantings should not be thickened even when collecting individual leaves. Plants are regularly watered and fed.

Shoots appear on the 3-5th day, the optimal temperature for growth and development is 20-22 degrees.

Semi-headed varieties have a raised rosette of leaves, in the center of which a loose head of cabbage is tied.

The varieties are mid-season, it is better to grow them through seedlings, but they can also be sown in the ground.

Of the more early ripening varieties, the following are known: Stone heads, Berlin yellow(300 grams), Festival(400 grams).

Among the new varieties:

Moscow region(200 grams) - with crispy leaves; even when ripe, it does not lose its qualities for up to 10 days.

Lolla Rossa- a new, but already popular, curly-haired handsome man; weight 250 grams, corrugated leaf, juicy, tender, green at the base, gradually turning into burgundy. Ready for use after 55 days. The distance between plants is 20-25 cm, resistant to bolting.

Excitement- a new variety that has already become popular, with curly, tender and juicy leaves, semi-crispy, with a raised rosette. Bitterness does not accumulate in the leaves. Seeds are sown in early spring in a greenhouse, and in the ground throughout the summer.

It tolerates short-term frosts down to -5 degrees, while the leaves do not lose their quality after thawing. Plant weight is 270-320 grams, early maturity is 60-70 days.

Gribovsky curly- mid-season, high-yielding, loose head, weighing 450 grams. The leaf is crispy and has excellent taste; resistant to stemming and diseases.

Growing pattern: 25 x 20 cm, sowing in April, until early July. Harvesting from the third decade of June to the end of September.

It looks especially beautiful when cabbage and leaf varieties, of different colors and with corrugated or wavy edges, are planted together.

Red-leaf salads, due to their extraordinary appearance, are in high demand among vegetable growers around the world.

However, not all gardeners know that the intensity of color and even their corrugation depend on weather conditions.

Sometimes instead of the deep red lettuce pictured on the bag, green or pale red lettuce grows.

Scientists explain this by saying that in hot weather lettuce quickly loses its color.

But closer to autumn, at low temperatures, the growth of lettuce slows down, and the color of the leaves intensifies and its quality improves.

This should not be forgotten when growing colored salads.

Late heading varieties . Large cabbage, Odessa kudryavets, Crispy, Iceberg G.

Great Lakes— new (Iceberg-type) crispy head lettuce, late-ripening, gives a high yield, ripens in 85 days. A large, round-shaped head of cabbage with a closed top, oak-leaved, dark green. Resistant to burns and staining.

Scheme 35 x 30 cm. Under the film and in the greenhouse you can get an early harvest.

Head lettuces are more productive, but they ripen late.

However, if the seedlings are planted in early dates, then you can get the harvest earlier.

Nowadays, salads with crispy leaves are very popular: Excitement, Ballet, Odessa Kudryavets, Krupnokochanny, Moscow region.

New varieties of lettuce are more productive, they have a better chemical composition, which means their healing properties are higher.

Lettuce is an early ripening and cold-resistant crop, so it can be sown in early spring, especially leaf varieties, and also before winter.

Seeds germinate at a temperature of 4-5 degrees, the most favorable temperature for growth is 15-20 degrees.

Young plants are less resistant to frost.

Lettuce is demanding on moisture not only in the soil, but also on air humidity. However, with excess moisture, it is affected by fungal infections, and the quality of the crop decreases.

Lettuce is light-loving; it needs to be grown in a sunny place.

When there is insufficient lighting, the plant stretches out, and in cabbage varieties a loose and small head of cabbage is formed.

In dry, hot weather, a flower stem quickly forms, especially in early ripening varieties; the leaves become bitter and become unsuitable for eating.

This crop is grown in film and glass greenhouses, under film in tunnels, as well as in open ground.

In protected soil under a film, with sharp temperature fluctuations, as well as with low soil moisture, flowering increases.

The lettuce seeds are small; they can be mixed with sand in a ratio of 1:0.5 before sowing.

It is better to make furrows across the bed at intervals of 12 cm.

The soil is fertilized: per 1 sq. meter contribute 1/3 bucket Humus with the addition of 1 tablespoon Superphosphate and 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate or 1-2 tablespoons Mortar . Nitrophoska on acidic soils. Be sure to add 200 grams Dolomite flour, since lettuce does not grow well in acidic soils.

Having selected large seeds, they are sown to a depth of 1 centimeter.

Inexperienced vegetable growers complain about low seed germination. Most often, the reason lies in the formed soil crust, which the seedlings cannot break through.

One of the main conditions for obtaining a good rosette of leaves or head of cabbage is timely Thinning salad

Usually seeded lettuce is thinned out twice. They start with an interval of 5 cm and, as they grow, increase the distance between plants to 15-20 cm.

During the first thinning, the removed plants can be transplanted as seedlings to a new location.

To obtain greenery throughout the summer, you need to repeat the sowings every 15-20 days.

In summer, mid-late varieties or new ones that are resistant to bolting are sown.

Watering moderately cool water once a week, in the morning or evening.

Leafy varieties are watered using the sprinkling method. and cabbage - the soil along the rows. If the soil was well-dressed when planting, leaf lettuce, as an early ripening crop, does not require fertilizing.

Considering that head lettuce grows longer, it needs one or two feedings: fermented grass, diluted mullein (1:10), biorymus, Biud (1:20), bird droppings (1:20).

You can also fertilize with complex mineral fertilizers (1 tablespoon per bucket of water).

Fertilizing is combined with watering.

To obtain early production in protected soil, lettuce is grown through seedlings.

Sow it in boxes or in the ground under a film (temperature - 18-21 degrees). Shoots appear on the 3-4th day.

After germination, it is better to reduce the temperature by 3-4 degrees so that the seedlings do not stretch out.

Seedlings with 1-2 true leaves are picked, and with the fourth leaf they are planted in a permanent place so that the root collar is at soil level, otherwise it will rot

To speed up harvesting, plants in the ground can be covered with non-woven material.

Through seedlings, lettuce grows well in greenhouses along the edge of a bed with tomatoes or other crops.

Leaf lettuce is ready to eat after 20-30 days (when it has 5-10 leaves). They remove it selectively (with 5-7 leaves), first tear off individual leaves (if necessary), then cut off the entire plant with a knife, removing the lower, rotten leaves.

After harvesting, do not wash the lettuce, otherwise it will rot.

Head lettuce ripens in 50-70 days, when a head of cabbage with a diameter of 5-12 centimeters or more is formed. Do not be late in harvesting, otherwise bitterness will appear in the leaves.

It is better to refrigerate salad intended for storage immediately after harvesting. Store it at a temperature of 0-10 degrees in a hermetically sealed package for up to 40 days, in an unsealed package for up to 25 days, in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Powdery mildew is easy to notice: discolored spots appear on the leaves in the form of a white coating, growth slows down. This is observed during sharp changes in day and night temperatures.

The infection persists on plant debris. Moscow greenhouse, Berlin yellow and new varieties are less damaged.

Chemicals must not be used.

Therefore it is necessary to comply Crop rotation. remove all plant debris (including roots after cutting plants) and diseased plants as they grow.

A marginal burn manifests itself in the form of death of leaf tissue: first, the edge of the leaf turns brown in the form of a stripe, the leaves curl, rot pathogens appear in these places, the leaves begin to rot, and then the entire plant.

The disease is promoted by excess nitrogen in the soil, sudden temperature changes, and increased air and soil humidity.

The disease manifests itself especially strongly in greenhouses and under film cover.

When the plant is ready for harvesting, limit watering; do not overfeed with nitrogen; when grown in a greenhouse, do not allow sudden fluctuations in temperature and humidity.

After complete harvesting, plant residues, especially roots remaining in the soil, are removed, since overwintered roots will develop Aphid .

Zhanna S Genius (61906) 6 years ago

I grew many different varieties.
I love half-headed ones like Odessa Kucheryavets -
Beautiful, ripen faster, leaves are large, crispy, easy to grow.

And it gives off bitterness, especially if there is little water, it’s hot, and it’s thickened.

I like the Australian variety, the same type, but more resistant to bitterness and tastier.

Fertilizing with fertilizer with a high magnesium content will help to grow lettuce sweet, without bitterness.
And one more “secret”. cut the lettuce either early in the morning or late in the evening - then it will be juicier, sweeter and tastier.

Every year I try to find something new.

Below is a whole list of bitterness-resistant varieties.

FRILLAC refers to early ripening leaf lettuce. Rosettes reaching thirty centimeters in diameter grow up to 400 grams.

The leaves are red, crisp, highly fibrous. Absolutely no bitterness with delicate taste.

Frillac is very resistant to flowering and leaf burn, and is not affected by rot. If you have a heated greenhouse, then this salad can be grown all year round.
From early spring to late autumn it grows well in open ground.

Two months pass from germination to harvesting of this early ripening variety BAKARDI. This is a semi-headed variety with delicate, oily leaves of a dark red-green color.

Absolutely no bitterness. The round-shaped head reaches a weight of 250 grams.

Leafy early ripening lettuce KRIZET with leaves of a rich light green color. Absolutely without bitterness and with a delicate taste.

The rosette reaches a diameter of thirty centimeters, so plants should be planted in the garden bed at a distance of 25 - 30 centimeters. After planting, feed the lettuce with nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers.

By cutting off individual lettuce leaves, the rosette grows back.

A large head of EMBREACE lettuce is very similar to Iceberg lettuce. This versatile variety can be grown from early spring to late autumn.

The heads of this crispy salad reach a weight of 700 grams. It forms a light green leaf mass quite quickly.

The succulent leaves are thick and without bitterness, with wavy edges.
You can grow it through seedlings, saving time, and by sowing seeds. This lettuce variety has very good bolting resistance.

FULMARIA. Early ripening variety. The open head is light green in color with glossy and fleshy leaves.

Its weight reaches 200 grams. Absolutely no bitterness.

REMUS is a lettuce variety with wavy leaves of dark green color. This is a medicinal variety of lettuce. Its juicy and crispy leaves contain glucoside and vitamin E, which improve vision, increase hemoglobin and calm the nervous system.

This salad is useful for people suffering from hypertension and diabetes, obesity and anemia. And when peptic ulcers and gastritis, the juice squeezed from remus leaves is very beneficial.

AMORIX - the dark red leaves of this salad, which have a delicate taste and are devoid of bitterness, belong to an early ripening variety. By cutting off the leaves, the rosette grows back. "(http://selsovet.ru/)

Irena Connoisseur (371) 6 years ago

SALAD EXCITATION
An early ripening variety, mildly pungent taste with a large purple spherical onion. The period from germination to technical maturity is 90-100 days.

Bulb weight up to 110 g. Resistant to diseases, perfectly stored.

BATAVIA SALAD
A mid-season variety, the ideal time for harvesting is 50 days after sowing, when the head of cabbage reaches a diameter of 24 cm and a weight of 200-220 g. The leaf is light green with a strongly wavy edge. The number of seeds in 1 kg is 880,000 pcs. seeding rate 1 kg/ha.

When sowing, the distance between seeds in a row is 16 cm, between rows is 30 cm. Productivity is 60,000 pcs. plants per hectare The taste is excellent, without bitterness.

Resistant to color fade.

WHITE BOSTON SALAD

Magnificent, early ripening variety. The head of cabbage is light green in color, medium in size, weighing about 200 g. Very resistant to heat and blooming, not susceptible to tip burns.

The taste is excellent, without bitterness.

VITAMIN LEAF SALAD
Leafy early variety. The period from germination to technical ripeness is 35-45 days. The plant is tall, erect, up to 26 cm in diameter.

The leaf is light green, bubbly, with a strongly wavy edge, large. The taste is excellent.

LEAF SALAD GRAND RAPIDS
Leaf lettuce, mid-early, technical ripeness occurs 45 days after sowing. It has crispy leaves and a light green color. Excellent resistance to flowering makes it possible to grow this variety throughout the summer.

It has excellent taste, without bitterness.

EMERALD LACE SALAD
An early-ripening, highly decorative variety of lettuce. From emergence to harvesting 42-52 days. Forms a powerful rosette of leaves up to 25 cm high.

Plant weight up to 500 g, leaves are highly corrugated, very tender, excellent taste, beautiful bright green color. Designed for growing in open ground and for film shelters. Suitable for growing hydroponically.

The variety is resistant to stemming and low light. Productivity up to 5 kg/mg.

The culture is cold-resistant.

ODESSA LEAF CURLE SALAD

Demanding about watering.

MAY KING LETTUCE SALAD
One of the earliest ripening varieties of lettuce. It is grown by sowing seeds directly into the ground or into a greenhouse at the earliest possible time. Quickly forms a large rosette of light green leaves.

It has a sweet, buttery taste, without bitterness. The weight of one plant is up to 200 g. To constantly obtain fresh greens, lettuce is sown every 10-15 days.

LETTUCE SALAD-ATTRACTION
The lettuce is early ripening, the harvest can be harvested 40-45 days after germination. It has tender, juicy, crispy, corrugated, very decorative green leaves, with increased content calcium, vitamins and mineral salts.

Ideal for fresh consumption, making sandwiches, salads, and decorating dishes. The variety is resistant to bolting.

Suitable for year-round cultivation in open ground.

LOLLA ROSSA SALAD
Mid-season, from full germination to consumer consumption. shelf life 55-75 days. Young tender leaves are eaten before the flower stem forms. Seeds are sown according to a 25x25 cm pattern to a depth of 1 -1.5 cm in moist soil, which is slightly compacted after sowing.

Shoots appear on 8-10 days. Requires regular watering. Suitable for spring and autumn sowing.

To obtain early production, they are grown under film cover.

MOSCOW KUCHEREVETS LEAF SALAD
Medium late, from full germination to economic suitability 50-60 days. The consistency is crispy, somewhat rough, the taste is good, without bitterness.

It forms a half-head of average size 9-10 cm, loose, weighing 150-200 g. Seeds are sown to a depth of 1.5 cm in moist soil, which is slightly compacted after sowing. The optimal temperature for germination is +15 - +20 C. Shoots appear on the 10-15th day. To form semi-heads, it is necessary to maintain a planting pattern of 30x30 cm, which is achieved by thinning the seedlings.

When sowed thickly, it forms an ordinary leaf form.

RHAPSODY LEAF SALAD
Leafy early variety. The period from germination to technical ripeness is 35-45 days. The plant is erect, with a diameter of 24-26 cm.

The leaf is dark green, with a finely toothed edge, large. The taste is excellent.

SIMPSON SALAD
A plant with light green curly leaves. The optimal time for harvesting is after 45 days, when the rosette reaches a diameter of 26 cm. The number of seeds in 1 kg is 880,000 pieces. seeding rate 1 kg/ha.

When sowing, the distance between seeds in a row is 16 cm, between rows - 30 cm. Productivity is 60,000 pcs. plants per hectare. Very high taste qualities.

It has high productivity.

TYPHOON LEAF SALAD
Medium late, from full germination to economic suitability 50-60 days. The consistency is crispy, somewhat rough, the taste is good, without bitterness. It forms a half-head of average size 9-10 cm, loose, weighing 150-200 g. Seeds are sown to a depth of 1.5 cm in moist soil, which is slightly compacted after sowing.

The optimal temperature for germination is +15 - +20 C. Shoots appear on the 10-15th day. To form semi-heads, it is necessary to maintain a planting pattern of 30x30 cm, which is achieved by thinning the seedlings.

When sowed thickly, it forms an ordinary leaf form.

MIRACLE SALAD 4 SEASONS
Early ripening cabbage variety. The leaves are tender, oily, sweet.

The variety is intended for cultivation in open ground throughout the growing season. Forms fairly dense large heads of cabbage of unusual red color.

The leaves have a delicate, bubbly texture. Tolerates extensive field conditions very well.

CICORY SALAD KOLOBOK
New cabbage variety. Recommended for growing in open ground and under film covers. The heads of cabbage are large, weighing up to 600 g. The leaves are red with white veins, very juicy, tender, with a piquant taste.

KOREAN RUCOLA SALAD
Early ripening.
Arugula looks like dandelion leaves. This salad is rich in minerals, it contains a lot of iodine and vitamin C. It promotes digestion and activates the immune system. Rucola ideally complements other green salads, and its incomparable spicy spicy taste Vinegar and Parmesan highlight the best.

Arugula is often added to the popular pesto seasoning.

CRESS SALAD
The leaves contain a large amount of vitamins, salts, and microelements. Tender young greens have a pleasant pungent taste, reminiscent of horseradish.

It is grown almost all year round. During the spring-summer-autumn period they are grown in open ground. Young leaves and shoots are used for food.

During the autumn-winter-spring period, they are grown indoors. Plants in the seven-lobed leaf stage are used for food.

Sow in rows with a distance of 10-15 cm to a depth of 1.5-2 cm in moist soil, which is slightly compacted after sowing.

The best lettuce, dill, parsley and celery seeds

What types of salads should you choose? Which varieties of dill, parsley, celery and basil should you choose?

In the summer, you want to please yourself with salads, and also decorate your dish beautifully with salads. And what types of salads are the best?

Let's figure it out.

New varieties of lettuce seeds

Salads. Among the wide variety of salads, the new semi-headed Marinella varieties with a high iodine content, with a dark border on the leaves, should be highlighted; Gentelina, similar to Azart; Northern blush is a spectacular, elegant and tasty plant; Grand Rapid (fast growing), Blizzard.

Early cabbage varieties Etna, similar to Iceberg, Commander, Ice Queen, May King, Pirate, Rosemary, Mowgli, Cassini. In addition, excellent lettuce salads such as Rosello, Merlot and Record have appeared.

Half-headed variety Etna, Ice Queen late night lettuce.

For lovers of endive salads two new varieties Radicci and Curly appeared.

New Zealand spinach Tetragonia.

Spicy flavor crops. Among the new varieties of dill, we can recommend the well-leafed varieties Symphony, Excellent Semko, and the still unsurpassed hybrid of bush dill Buyan from Hardwick.

Interesting corianders are Veterok, Taiga, Borodinsky, Firstborn (late to bloom), Fennel Udalets.

Basilicas are represented on the seed market by the varieties Tempter, Ararat, Velvet, Rubin Caira, Osmin, Marquis. There is another very interesting variety, Siam Queen, intended for flowerpots and flower pots, with huge fragrant inflorescences.

Interesting parsley Bogatyr, producing huge foliage and large root crops. Leaf parsleys include Volshebnitsa, Sandwich, Piquant, Konica, and root parsleys Alba and Fest.

Among the new varieties of root vegetables Celery The largest root crops are found in the newest variety Kladez Zdorovya, as well as in last year’s new varieties Prague Giant and Russian Size; large root crops are also found in Brilliant, Monarch, and Delicatessen.

From new varieties of petiole celery I can recommend the varieties Aurora, Zolotoy, Pascal, Malachite and Nugeti, as well as newest variety Male valor.

New varieties of leaf celery include Zakhar, Action and Aroma.

Sage Supermuscat (plant in poor soil).

Lettuce is a light-loving crop; it should not be placed between the rows of the garden. However, lettuce is cold-resistant, can grow at a temperature of 5° C, tolerates frosts down to -5. It grows better at a temperature of 15-20° C. During the period of head formation, the optimal temperature during the day is 14-16 ° C, at night - 8-12.

Types of leaf lettuce description and cultivation features

Lettuce from the Asteraceae family is an annual plant. It is a small head of cabbage with leaves of various shapes and various shades of green. The surface of the leaf can be wavy, smooth, corrugated, curly. The brightness of the color and waviness of the leaves depends on weather conditions: in the heat the leaves turn pale; at low temperatures, on the contrary, the color becomes rich, the leaves are elastic and juicy. The lettuce stem branches widely, forming a large number of inflorescences. The root system is weak and located close to the soil surface. Tap root.

Beneficial features
Types of lettuce
Planting lettuce
Growing leaf lettuce
Harvest

Beneficial features

Lettuce or leaf lettuce takes pride of place in the top ten most healthy vegetables for humans. Salad contains more calcium and vitamin K (which plays an essential role in the process of blood clotting) than all vegetables. And in terms of the composition of all minerals, this vegetable ranks second after spinach.

Due to its low calorie content, lettuce is recommended for obese people.

Freshly squeezed salad juice improves brain activity. To prevent atherosclerosis, mix lettuce juice with the same amount of carrot, beet and turnip juice.

Types of lettuce

Leaf lettuce is divided according to ripening periods:

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Spring ones are the fastest to ripen. They can be grown in open beds and indoors, for example, in greenhouses or greenhouses. Summer varieties tolerate heat well; they are sown from May to the end of July–July. Autumn varieties tolerate cool climates and lack of light well and are not susceptible to diseases, even if they grow in greenhouses and greenhouses.

Early ripening varieties:

Asterix - belongs to the oak-leaved type, the leaves are green, delicate in taste, the rosette is erect.
Bohemia - leaves are green, wavy, wrinkled, oily. Ripens in 30 - 40 days.
Kritzet - leaves are light bright green in color, delicate taste without bitterness. Tolerates heat well.
Gourmand - leaves are yellow-green, wavy, wrinkled at the edges, the leaf tissue is oily. Ripens in 40-45 days.
Lollo-Biondo - leaves are corrugated, juicy, crispy. Can be grown all year round.
Lollo Rosa - leaves are brownish, burgundy, curly. Loves moisture, otherwise it may acquire a bitter taste.
Moscow greenhouse - leaves are pale green with a slight yellowness, juicy, rosette up to 27 cm in diameter. Quite a common variety.
An early ripening delicacy - the leaves are pale green, with a medium-bubbly surface, and excellent taste.
Furor - leaves are wrinkled, large, with a “wave” at the edges, oily pulp.
Relay – leaves with a reddish tint, a strong “wave” at the edges, bubbly, excellent taste.

Mid-season varieties:

Azaria - leaves are green, round in shape, bubbly, large, with a “wave” along the edge with small cuts, the taste is reminiscent of young green peas.
Apex - leaves are round in shape, large, greenish at the root, purple towards the edges, bubbly, oily flesh. Low rosette about 12 cm.
America - triangular leaves of a dark red hue, pleasant to the taste.
Athlete - leaves are oily, round, purple in color. The rosette is slightly raised, looking like a loose head of cabbage.
Vitamin charging – great taste. Not afraid of low temperatures and lack of light.
Green Manul - leaves are oily, round in shape, wavy.
Dachny - the leaves are oily, thick, wrinkled, wavy at the edges, yellowish in color. Taste without bitterness.
Dionysus - leaves are oily, smooth, oblong.
Oak - belongs to the oak-leaved type, the leaves are light green in color, large, the surface of the leaf is folded, the flesh is oily, delicate taste.
Zabava is oak-leaved, the leaves are large, dissected, anthocyanin in color, the flesh is oily, of excellent taste. Characterized by high productivity.
Emerald - the leaves are dark green, medium-bubbly, with a glossy surface, the flesh is oily. Great taste.
Credo - large leaves, dark green, oily, pinnately dissected, delicate taste. Easily tolerates heat. Belongs to the oak-leaved type.
New Year's - green leaves. medium-bubbly, grow indoors, can be grown on a windowsill. High yield - about 3 kg of lettuce is harvested from one square meter.
Riviera - similar to oak leaves, dissected, dark purple in color, large, oily flesh.
Northern Blush - bubbly leaves, light green with purple flecks, excellent taste.
Creator - the leaves are light greenish, wavy at the edges, fan-shaped, oily.
Tornado - green leaves with a yellowish tint, wavy edges, crispy, excellent taste.
Fire - the leaves are large, slightly bubbly, red, the edges with small cuts are wavy, the flesh is oily, of excellent taste.

Late ripening varieties:

Ballet - leaves are dark green, strongly wavy along the edges, large, crispy. Tolerates cold and lack of light well. The socket is flat. About 34 days pass from germination to ripening.

All of the listed lettuce varieties are resistant to the formation of flowering stems (stemming), with the exception of the Apex variety and the Moscow greenhouse variety. All varieties can be grown indoors and outdoors.

Planting lettuce

Lettuce should be planted in well-lit beds in loose, fertile, non-acidic soil. Lettuce requires a lot of potassium and nitrogen.

Before salad, you can grow zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage and other plants in the garden that require a high content of organic fertilizers.

The area for salad should be prepared in the fall.

If the soil has not been fertilized, then when digging it you need to add 1 square meter. meter half a bucket of compost, 1 tablespoon of superphosphate, 1 tablespoon of potash fertilizer. If the soil is acidic, add ash. In the spring, to retain moisture in the soil, it needs to be loosened. Five to six days before sowing, loosen the soil again to a depth of about 12 centimeters, add ammonium nitrate (1 teaspoon per 1 square meter), level the beds, crushing large lumps.

In greenhouses, lettuce is best grown between or along the edges of beds occupied by tomatoes or cucumbers. It is recommended to plant lettuce in a greenhouse two to three days before planting the main plants.

In open beds, lettuce is propagated by seeds, and occasionally by seedlings. Lettuce can be sown starting from April and ending at the end of August, with an interval of fifteen days. In summer, it is recommended to sow late-ripening varieties that are resistant to the formation of flowering stems.

For planting, make furrows about 1.5 cm deep with a distance of about 15 cm.

The gap between seeds (plants) should be at least 5 centimeters. When the lettuce is crowded, the leaves become coarse. For better growth, you can add granular superphosphate (0.5 per 1 sq.m.) when planting. To speed up the emergence of seedlings, roll the soil. Lettuce can be sown between the rows of cabbage: it protects it well from the sun, and by the time the cabbage gets stronger, the lettuce can already be harvested.

Growing leaf lettuce

Leaf lettuce does not require much care - you need to regularly loosen the soil and remove weeds. To form a good rosette, thin out the seedlings.

Lettuce loves moist soil, but suffers from fungal diseases from excess moisture, and the quality of the harvest decreases. Water plenty, but not very often, to avoid over-wetting the soil. At the same time, do not allow it to dry out.

The salad is very cold-resistant; it is not afraid of frosts down to minus 3 degrees.

If rosettes (heads of cabbage) have already formed, even down to minus 6 degrees. Autumn varieties can withstand cold temperatures of minus 10 degrees. Lettuce varieties with pigmented leaves are most resistant to low temperatures. If the plant grows poorly, when two or three leaves appear, it needs to be fed with ammonium nitrate (0.5 tsp per 1 sq. m). It is important to remember that lettuce absorbs nitrates, so do not use fertilizer unless necessary.

Temperature:

For lettuce to sprout, a temperature of plus 2 degrees is enough, for full development +5 °C.
The best growth is achieved at plus 16-18 °C during the day and 12-13 °C at night.

Lettuce tolerates lack of moisture and heat worst of all. The leaves are small, rough, and bitter. In hot climates, lettuce throws out arrows and does not produce leaves. Lettuce grows well with long, good light, especially for early ripening varieties. When daylight hours shorten, the formation of arrows slows down. Lettuce should not be planted thickly, as it stops developing.

Harvest

Harvesting should be done in dry weather in the morning or evening.

Wash the roots; there is no need to wash the leaves themselves - they will quickly rot. The salad can be stored in the refrigerator for up to fifteen days, at room temperature - no more than a day.

You don’t have to pull out the rosettes with roots, but cut off the leaves. Then new ones grow in their place, and the fruiting period increases. You will get more than one harvest from one plot. The remarkable properties of leaf lettuce and the presence of varieties of different early ripening times make it possible to grow it almost all year round.

More information can be found in the video.

Mother Nature is pleased to bring a good salad to our table to help combat the annual vitamin deficiency that plagues us on spring days. This fast-growing annual is one of the main suppliers of useful components. Crispy foliage plays the role of that extraordinary zest that can harmoniously decorate a meat, fish, or cheese dish. An important feature of greenery is that it can be cultivated all year round. And quite often, gardeners who have harvested an early harvest re-sow the seeds of this crop in open ground.

The best varieties of lettuce for planting in the country

In Russia, leaf lettuce is very popular, known for its tender and juicy leaves and short ripening time. It is recommended to be eaten at any time of the year.

Garden bed with various varieties of lettuce

For open ground

downy mildew;
internal necrosis;

It grows well in unprotected beds and in greenhouses. For open ground, lettuce is recommended for cultivation from mid-spring to autumn.

Ruksai is another salad plant with a late (up to fifty days) ripening period. The rosette is open, loose, reaches twenty centimeters in height. Rounded foliage of a reddish hue, with a slight purple color. The head of cabbage weighs about four hundred grams. Taste characteristics are expressed by brightly spicy and nutty notes.

Ruksai lettuce variety

Gascony in the garden

Leafy early ripening

Growing Sandwich Leaves

floweriness;
necrosis;
marginal burns.

Grant lettuce

Kitezh is an early ripening salad plant, forming erect rosettes, the height and diameter of which reach twenty-five centimeters. The foliage is medium sized, oblong, reddish in color. The wavy edges have small cuts in the apical parts. The taste of the salad is excellent, the yield reaches two and a half kilograms per square meter of bed.

Growing Kitezh

Without bitterness for the garden

Lollo bionda is considered one of the popular and beautiful salad types. The foliage is soft and goes well with hot dishes, sauces, baked vegetables, and fried meat. It can be a good decoration for any dish or garden bed.

Lollo biond

Batavia– includes a number of varieties, united by common features:

leafly;
risotto;
greenie;
fanley;
country house;
jumble;
Prague residents

Batavia variety

Oakleaf - owes its name to the appearance of the foliage. The plant is recognized by its color shades and taste, distinguished by the presence of nutty notes. It is an excellent addition to hot salads, appetizers, and fish dishes. Due to the increased sensitivity of the foliage to temperature changes, the salad should not be stored for more than a few hours.

Oakleaf species

Corn - forms small leaves of a dark green hue, creating rosettes. The taste is sweetish, with nutty notes, and a slight spiciness is felt. You can plant it in the country house or balcony.

Unusual corn, pre-assembled in a basket

Any climatic conditions are suitable for growing lettuce. It is important that the place for sowing lettuce is sunny (otherwise nitrates will accumulate in the leaves and the soil is loosened to a greater depth. When growing in early spring, only early varieties of lettuce should be used, and when grown later, summer varieties should be used.

Lettuce varieties with photos and descriptions, reviews

Iceberg lettuce

New productive variety of crispy head lettuce. From the moment of germination to technical ripeness, 75-90 days pass. This variety is intended for cultivation in spring and summer. Resistant to shooting.

The heads of lettuce are large, dense, weighing 300-600 grams. The leaves are corrugated, with wavy edges, juicy, bubbly, crispy, and retain freshness for a long time. The taste qualities of the variety are high.

Salad Sandwich

An excellent early ripening lettuce variety. Grown in open and protected ground. Lettuce leaves are light green, tender, crispy, with a high content of vitamins and mineral salts.

Leaf lettuce Sandwich is ideal for fresh consumption, making sandwiches, salads, and decorating dishes.

Eurydice salad

Mid-season, half-headed lettuce variety. It is grown in open ground and film greenhouses. The rosette of leaves is medium-sized, semi-raised, compact, about 35 cm high, about 33 cm in diameter. The leaf is large, dark green in color, bubbly, with a wavy edge, crispy consistency. It has excellent taste. The weight of an adult plant is 450 g.

Productivity– 4.3 kg/sq. m. Sowing seeds directly into the ground in April - May.

Firebird salad

An early ripening variety of lettuce, the harvest of which can be harvested within 45-50 days from the moment of germination. The plant forms large rosettes of intense ruby red color, with delicate, crispy leaves. Firebird lettuce leaves contain an increased amount of vitamins and mineral salts.

This lettuce variety is suitable for year-round cultivation in open and protected ground throughout Russia.

Advantages of the variety: resistance to flowering, rapid growth at any day length, excellent taste.

Salad Odessa curly haired

Mid-season (68-75 days from germination to harvest) variety of semi-headed type. The plant forms a loose rosette of medium size, 24-32 cm in diameter, weighing up to 200 grams. The leaf is fan-shaped with a corrugated edge, crispy consistency, with excellent taste.

Odessa curlytail is grown in open ground and film shelters. For continuous harvesting from June to autumn, sowing in open ground is carried out from April to August. Seed placement depth is 1-2 cm.

For seedlings, lettuce seeds are sown in March–April, and plants are planted in May–June.

Productivity: 2.7-5.0 kg/sq.m. The variety is resistant to flowering.

Grand leaf lettuce

An early ripening variety of lettuce. It takes 45 days from germination to harvest. The plant produces a large, juicy leaf of light green color with pronounced curling.

The Grand variety is distinguished by high uniformity of rosettes.

Advantages of the variety: resistant to discoloration, marginal burns and necrosis.

Salad Crunchy Vitamin

Mid-early variety of leaf lettuce. From germination to ripeness it takes 38-45 days. The plant is compact, about 15-18 cm in diameter, with green, crispy leaves (laced along the edges).

The Crispy Vitamin lettuce variety contains many vitamins and useful acids. It is recommended to sow several times during the season. Advantages of the variety: high yield, crispy leaf texture, long shelf life, resistance to stemming and low light.

Salad Kitezh

An early ripening variety of lettuce. Forms an erect rosette 20-25 cm high and about 25 cm in diameter. The leaves are medium-sized, oblong, reddish with a strong anthocyanin color, slightly bubbly, wavy along the edge, with cuts in the apical part. The consistency of the leaves is oily. The taste is excellent.

Productivity Kitezh lettuce - 2.5 kg/sq.m.

Royal salad

High-yielding early-ripening lettuce variety. Forms large rosettes of corrugated leaves, light in the center and dark green at the edges.

It is characterized by a long period of consumer suitability, does not bolt, and is very decorative. It is recommended to grow in open and protected ground.

Salad Gourmand

An early ripening variety of lettuce. The period from germination to harvesting is 40-45 days. The leaves are yellow-green, slightly wrinkled, with a wavy edge. Average weight one plant up to 200 grams.

The Lakomka lettuce variety is intended for growing in open and protected ground. In open ground, sowing from late April to mid-July. In unheated film greenhouses, sowing/planting occurs in the 3rd decade of April - 1st decade of May.

Planting scheme: 20x20 cm.

Salad Lolo Biendo

An early ripening variety of lettuce. From the moment of germination to technical ripeness, 40-45 days pass. The leaves are yellow-green, curly, aromatic, juicy and crisp. The rosette is compact, round in shape, weighing 200-300 grams. The leaves are curly, aromatic, juicy and crispy, yellow-green in color, delicate in taste, form a compact round rosette.

The average weight of one socket is 200-300 grams. The variety is suitable for year-round cultivation in open ground and greenhouses.

Salad Lollo Sun

An early-ripening, high-yielding variety of lettuce. The period from germination to ripeness is 40-45 days. The leaves are green, very decorative, corrugated. The rosette head is loose, 15-20 cm in diameter.

The variety is resistant to bolting.

Salad Lollo Rossa

The most popular variety of lettuce. The period from germination to technical ripeness is 40-55 days. The plant is tall, erect, 15-20 cm in diameter. The leaves are tender, wrinkled, curly, light green in color with a wide reddish-pink edge.

Advantages of the variety: good taste, resistance to bolting, decorative. Lollo Rossa lettuce is often used to decorate flower beds.

Salad Yeralash

Mid-season high-yielding variety of lettuce. The average weight of one plant is 150-200 grams.

Advantages of the variety: resistance to edge leaf burn, high taste.

Moscow greenhouse salad

An early ripening variety of lettuce. From germination to harvest it takes only 35 days. The leaves are pale green, tender, juicy, with excellent taste.

The Moscow Greenhouse lettuce variety is ideal for fresh consumption, making sandwiches, salads, and decorating dishes.

Head lettuce Kolobok

A new late-ripening head lettuce variety. From germination to technical ripeness it takes from 55 to 75 days.

Grown in open ground and film shelters. The heads of cabbage are large, weighing up to 600 g. The leaves are red with white veins, very juicy, with a piquant taste.

Fresh heads of cabbage are rich in vitamins and minerals and are recommended for making salads.

Salad Obzhorka

An early ripening variety of curly leaf lettuce. It takes 40-42 days from germination to technical ripeness.

The plant forms a raised rosette with a diameter of 25-28 cm, the leaves are reddish, large, heavily wrinkled, juicy and tender. Socket weight up to 160 grams.

Leaf salad Mischief

An early ripening variety of lettuce. The period from germination to technical ripeness is 39-43 days. A rosette of green, bubbly leaves with strongly wavy edges.

The average weight of one socket is 150-160 grams. The consistency of the leaves is crispy.

Robin lettuce

Late-ripening variety of leaf lettuce. The ripening period is 50 days. Recommended for growing in various climatic zones, in open ground and winter greenhouses.

The variety is resistant to flowering.

Leaf salad "Fairy Tale"

An early ripening variety of lettuce. The ripening period is 46-49 days. The rosette of leaves is large, weighing up to 250 grams.

Advantages of the variety: resistant to bolting, fast growth at any day length.

Typhoon Salad

A new mid-season variety of lettuce. The leaf is large, green, slightly bubbly, wavy along the edge, with a crisp tissue texture, juicy and delicate in taste.

Advantages of the variety: resistant to flowering, fast growth at any day length.

Truffle Salad

Mid-early variety of lettuce. The leaves are tender, crispy, corrugated, and due to their reddish-burgundy edge they look very impressive and are indispensable for decorating dishes.

The Truffle lettuce variety is suitable for year-round cultivation in open ground and winter greenhouses.

Lettuce Season of Miracles

An excellent early ripening variety of lettuce. The plant forms a large rosette, 25 cm high and 25-40 cm in diameter. The weight of one rosette is about 150 g.

The leaf is medium in size, dark red, wavy along the edge, juicy, curly, bubbly, crispy in texture. Taste fresh leaves excellent, gentle.

Multivitamin Salad Mix

A wonderful mixture of fast-growing lettuces, with a growing season of 40-45 days.

Plants form large rosettes of exclusively decorative leaves. The leaves are tender, crispy, juicy, with good taste.

The mixture is suitable for year-round cultivation in open and protected ground.

Buy the seeds of the most delicious salads and other spicy-flavoring herbs we recommend in the Gardens of Russia online store.

What types of salad do you think are the most delicious? What varieties of lettuce without bitterness and with tender leaves would you recommend our readers plant?

Your feedback and additions will help many gardeners select the best varieties of green, red, leaf and head lettuce for planting.

If possible, attach a photo of the lettuce you grew to your reviews. Thank you!

To find the seedlings, crop, variety, etc. you need. use the search located at the top of each page. On the site you can find almost any planting material: seeds, seedlings, etc.

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Catalogs for planting material for 2016 are being updated. We advise you to regularly check for changes in the relevant sections and pages of the site.

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Leaf lettuce

Lettuces comprise a large group of annual and perennial plants that are part of the large Asteraceae family. Most lettuces are varieties of the same species and genus Lactuca sativa L. These include leaf lettuce, plucked lettuce, head lettuce, romaine lettuce, asparagus lettuce, etc.

Lettuce, or lettuce, has been known to people since ancient times. Long before our era, it was grown in Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, and Ancient Greece.

Lettuce was widely grown by the ancient Egyptians, as evidenced by its numerous depictions on the walls of ancient pyramids. It is good for the stomach, it gives juice and weakens the intestines, they wrote in ancient times.

The ancient Greeks consumed salad daily, attributing to it the ability to sober up from drinking wine. The Greeks also widely used it in ritual ceremonies, symbolizing the frailty of all living things.

From Greece, salad came to Ancient Rome. Here its cultivation reached such proportions that many Roman families did just that.

In medieval Europe, lettuce began to be widely cultivated in the 14th century. Headed forms of lettuce arose in the 15th-16th centuries.

Salad has been known to the Slavs since the adoption of Christianity, when Greek preachers introduced its culture into Kievan Rus. But the wide spread of salad in Russia occurred under Peter the Great, when court nobles were forced to eat salad at dinner parties.

Currently, lettuce is one of the most widely cultivated vegetable crops in Europe and North America due to its early maturity, productivity and high nutritional value.

In Russia, the word salad has a double meaning: it is the name of a widespread garden plant and the name of one of the most popular table snack dishes, which was originally prepared only from this green salad.

In Russia, leaf lettuce, which is famous for its tender, juicy leaves, and also the most early ripening, has become especially widespread. It is useful for everyone at any time of the year.

And it’s not difficult to grow it, and the area for lettuce is only 1-2 tiny beds, on which you can collect 2-3 harvests of greens. In one summer, the lettuce manages to grow and produce seeds.

Leaf lettuce often forms an appressed rosette of leaves of various shapes - ovate or obovate, sessile, whole or dissected, with smooth, jagged or wavy edges. They are painted in green tones with a rich range of shades, some varieties with anthocyanin pigmentation.

The surface of the leaves can be smooth, wrinkled, corrugated or curly.

The flowering stem of lettuce branches very strongly; a large number of inflorescences from medium-sized baskets are formed on it.

At the places where lettuce leaves and stems are cut, a milky juice will appear, which looks like milk. Milk in Latin is lac.

This is where the official name of the lettuce culture comes from.

Spring, summer and autumn varieties of lettuce differ in terms of ripening. Spring varieties of lettuce are very early ripening. They are grown both in protected and open ground.

When sown late, this salad produces a lot of flower shoots.

Summer lettuce varieties are not afraid of hot weather, which is why they are sown from May to July. They do not suffer from early stemming.

If you want to have lettuce at the beginning of autumn, then you need to sow autumn varieties that tolerate low temperatures and are well adapted to short-day conditions; they do not suffer from diseases even in greenhouses and greenhouses.

It is grown in open ground, under film in tunnels, in spring film greenhouses, as well as in glass greenhouses with solar heating.

Lettuce is an exceptionally cold-resistant plant. Lettuce seedlings can withstand frosts down to minus 2-3C. In the phase of a formed rosette, plants tolerate frosts down to minus 6 C. and well-formed plants in late autumn can withstand temperatures dropping to minus 10 C.

Varieties with pigmented leaves are especially resistant to cold.

Lettuce seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of +2C, plants can develop at a temperature of +5. +6C. The optimal development temperature during the day is 16-18C, at night 12-13C.

When the temperature rises to 28-30C, the seeds of many lettuce varieties do not germinate at all.

In hot weather, lettuce quickly bolts, especially in early ripening varieties, and produces virtually no marketable products. The most favorable temperature difference between day and night for the growth and development of lettuce is no more than 4-5 degrees.

Lettuce is a light-loving plant with long daylight hours, especially early ripening varieties, i.e. in the light it grows and develops faster. With a short daylight hours, it does not proceed to the bolting process for a long time.

Lettuce does not tolerate dense plantings; under these conditions, the plants quickly enter the reproductive phase of development.

And one more feature of lettuce plants. The intensity of the color of its leaves and even their corrugation depend on the weather. In hot weather, lettuce grows quickly and loses color.

And under unfavorable weather conditions and low air temperatures, plant growth slows down, while their color intensifies and its quality improves.

Lettuce has a tap root. The root system is generally weak and is located in the upper arable layer.

Therefore, lettuce is demanding of constant high soil and air humidity, but does not tolerate waterlogging, since excess moisture promotes the spread of fungal diseases and reduces the quality of the crop.

VARIETIES OF LEAF LETTUDE

Currently, there is a very large selection of lettuce seeds in the trade. Here are some of them:

Apex is a mid-season variety of buttery lettuce. The rosette of leaves is appressed, 12 cm high. The leaves are large, round, light green at the base, and in the upper part with a strong anthocyanin color, vesicular.

The variety is relatively resistant to stemming.

Azaria is a mid-early variety, the leaves are large, round, bubbly, of excellent taste. The variety is resistant to stemming.

America is a mid-early variety of lettuce. The leaves are dark red, lobed, triangular in shape.

Asterix is an early ripening variety with a semi-erect rosette. The leaves are oak-leaved, with a delicate tissue texture and excellent taste.

The variety is resistant to stemming.

Athlete is a mid-early variety. The rosette is semi-raised and looks like a loose head of cabbage. Leaf color has a slight anthocyanin tint.

They have highly wavy edges and an oily consistency. The weight of one plant is up to 200 g. The variety is highly resistant to flowering.

Ballet is a late-ripening variety for protected and open ground, resistant to bolting. It takes 34 days from mass germination to technical ripeness. The rosette of leaves is horizontal.

The leaves are large, with strongly wavy edges and fine bubbly, crispy. The weight of one plant can reach 300-400 g. The variety is resistant to insufficient lighting and low temperatures, and is suitable for storage.

Bohemia is an early ripening variety for growing in spring in a greenhouse or open ground. It takes up to 35 days from germination to harvesting.

The leaves are wavy, wrinkled, the rosette of leaves is semi-raised, the weight of one plant is up to 200 g. The consistency of the leaf tissue is oily.

Vitamin charging mid-season variety. Leaves have great flavor.

Plants are resistant to bolting and low temperatures, and tolerate lack of light well.

Green Manul is a mid-season variety. The leaves are slightly wrinkled, with wavy edges, with a delicate oily consistency and good taste.

The variety is resistant to flowering.

Country mid-early variety. The leaves are thick, yellowish, bubbly, and have an oily consistency. The weight of one plant is up to 200 g.

Dionysus is a mid-season variety of oily lettuce with a semi-erect rosette of leaves. The leaves are whole, with a smooth edge, without bitterness.

The variety is characterized by high plant uniformity and resistance to stemming.

Dubochek MS variety of leaf lettuce for open ground. The leaves are light green, oak-leaved.

The variety is resistant to bolting.

Dubrava is a mid-season variety. The leaves are large, yellowish-green, with a folded surface.

The consistency of the leaf is delicate and oily.

Zabava is a mid-season variety with a spreading rosette of leaves. The leaves are large, dissected, with slight wavy edges, with a spectacular light lilac color, and oily.

Willow lettuce variety for growing in summer. 60 days after sowing the seeds, it forms very large rosettes of leaves.

Emerald mid-early variety for growing in protected soil. The taste is excellent.

Plants are resistant to stemming.

Credo is a mid-season variety with a dense, raised rosette up to 30 cm high. The leaves are large, tender, and oily.

A slow-ripening variety with high resistance to shade.

Kritz is an early ripening, productive variety for growing in protected ground when planted in early spring, as well as in open ground. Plant weight up to 200 g. The variety is resistant to stemming and high temperatures.

Gourmand is an early ripening variety. The leaves are slightly wrinkled, with wavy edges, yellowish-green.

The weight of one plant is up to 200 g. The consistency of the leaf tissue is oily.

Lollo Bionda is an early ripening variety, resistant to bolting, suitable for year-round cultivation. Sockets weighing up to 300 g.

Lollo Rosa is an early ripening variety. Thanks to its wrinkled, curly leaves with a strong brown tint, mixed with ordinary salads, it creates an aesthetically unique landscape.

Requires good hydration, otherwise it will taste bitter in hot weather.

Moscow greenhouse common lettuce variety. Can be grown both in open and protected ground. The growing season, depending on growing conditions, is 35-45 days.

Productivity up to 2.5 kg per 1 sq. m. Produces a large rosette (up to 25 cm in diameter) of pale yellowish succulent leaves with excellent taste. The weight of one adult plant is up to 100 g or more.

New Year's mid-season variety with original leaf color. The growing season is 40-50 days, the yield is up to 3 kg per 1 sq.m.

Intended mainly for cultivation in protected soil, suitable for growing on a windowsill.

Riviera is a mid-season variety. The leaves are large, deeply dissected, with strong anthocyanin, oily.

The plant is very decorative and resistant to stemming.

Ruby variety with oak-leaved leaves painted in an intense violet-cherry color. Once harvested, the leaves quickly grow back.

Northern blush is a mid-early variety. The leaves are green, with bright anthocyanin pigmentation, and strongly vesicular. The taste is excellent.

The variety is resistant to stemming.

An early ripening delicacy, an early ripening variety for early forcing in a greenhouse and in the ground. Forms a large rosette of pale green leaves, excellent taste.

Creator is a mid-season variety with a raised, compact rosette of leaves. The leaves are light green, with a wavy, serrated edge.

The consistency of the leaf is oily, without bitterness.

Tornado is a mid-season crispy lettuce variety with a long shelf life and is resistant to bolting.

Fire is a mid-early variety. The leaves are reddish, bubbly, wavy along the edges, with small sparse cuts.

Furor is an early ripening leaf variety. The leaves are large, with wavy edges. The weight of one plant is up to 200 g. Suitable for growing in open ground and in all rotations in greenhouse culture.

The consistency of the leaf tissue is oily.

Relay is an early ripening variety. The leaves are reddish, strongly bubbly, and strongly wavy at the edges.

The taste is excellent. The variety is resistant to stemming.

Yana variety is intended for cultivation in the summer. Forms very large rosettes of leaves 55-60 days after sowing.

The leaves are narrow, uneven at the edges, light green, juicy and delicate in taste.

Place lettuce in well-lit areas with low groundwater. Like all fast-growing green crops, it is demanding in terms of growing conditions: the soil must be fertile and loose, light or medium loamy, moisture-absorbing, with an acidity close to neutral.

Lettuce removes especially a lot of nitrogen and potassium from the soil.

The predecessors of lettuce can be crops grown using high doses of organic fertilizers: cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, potatoes.

Soil preparation begins in the fall after harvesting the predecessor. If the previous crop was not fertilized with organic matter, then half a bucket of rotted compost per 1 square meter is added for digging. meter, as well as 1 tbsp. a spoonful of superphosphate and potassium fertilizers.

On acidic soils it is also necessary to add ash.

In the spring, as soon as the soil allows, it is loosened to retain moisture. A few days before sowing lettuce, the soil is loosened to a depth of 10-12 cm, adding one teaspoon of ammonium nitrate.

Then the beds are carefully harrowed so that there are no large lumps on the surface.

In protected soil, lettuce is grown mainly as a compactor for the main crops of tomatoes or cucumbers. It is sown 2-3 days before planting seedlings of the main crops or immediately after planting, occupying the side edges of the ridge or wide row spacing.

In open ground, leaf lettuce is grown mainly by sowing seeds, much less often by seedlings. Seeds are sown in the ground as soon as the soil is ripe (from mid-April to the end of August) with an interval of 15-20 days; At the same time, late bolting-resistant varieties are sown in the summer.

To speed up the harvest in spring in open ground, the crops are immediately covered with film stretched along arcs.

Sow the seeds in furrows to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, the distance between which is up to 16 cm, the distance between plants is 5 cm, since with thicker sowing the leaves become coarser. To improve plant growth, it is advisable to add granulated superphosphate to the rows along with the seeds, half a teaspoon per 1 square meter. meter.

A mandatory technique is also to roll the soil after sowing, which speeds up the emergence of seedlings by 2-3 days.

Inexperienced gardeners often complain about the low germination of lettuce seeds. But the reason for this is often not the quality of the seeds, but the formation of a soil crust through which seedlings cannot break through.

Lettuce is widely used as a cabbage thickener. At first, it shades it well, and when the cabbage takes root, the salad is ready for harvesting.

Very often, leaf lettuce is used as a beacon crop when sowing long-germinating seeds of carrots, parsley, beans, etc. With such sowings, one lettuce seed is planted after every 8-10 seeds of the main crop. Lettuce germinates in conventional crops 8-10 days earlier than the main crop and allows soil cultivation without fear of damaging the crops of the main crop.

In protected soil, lettuce along with Chinese cabbage and salad mustard are sown as a compactor for tomatoes and cucumbers, occupying side ridges or wide row spacing. In spring unheated greenhouses, it is sown in early April, and harvested in the first half of May by the time tomato or cucumber seedlings are planted in them.

Caring for crops consists of shallow loosening of row spacing and mandatory weeding. One of the main conditions for obtaining a good rosette of leaves is timely thinning.

During the first thinning, the removed plants can be transplanted as seedlings for planting in a new place, and the removed plants are used for food.

Leaf lettuce is systematically watered abundantly, but rarely, without allowing the soil to become waterlogged or dry out. Evaporation of leaves with a relatively small root system is very high, so the plant requires high soil and air humidity.

However, excess soil and air moisture leads to the spread of fungal diseases and reduces the quality of products. The combination of lack of moisture and high air temperature is especially unfavorable for lettuce.

In this case, the leaves are small, rough and with strong bitterness.

In the phase of 2-3 leaves, when the plants are stunted, they should be fed with ammonium nitrate (half a teaspoon per 1 square meter). But since lettuce can accumulate large amounts of nitrates, it is better not to fertilize with nitrogen on well-fertilized soil.

Lettuce is harvested early, in the phase of 6-8 leaves, because at a later age the nutritional value of the plant deteriorates. In fertile warm areas this occurs 30-40 days from the date of emergence.

Harvest the lettuce before the stem begins to elongate, in dry weather, in the morning or evening, when the plants are cooled but not moistened. After harvesting, the lettuce is not washed, otherwise its leaves will rot, but only the roots are washed in a basin.

And for the market, plants are usually pulled out by the roots, the soil is shaken off, sorted, tightly placed in a vertical position in a rigid container and taken for sale.

Leaf lettuce can be stored at room temperature for no more than a day, and in a plastic bag in the refrigerator it can be stored for up to 15 days without losing nutritional value.

Many gardeners do not pull out the plants, but tear off the leaves gradually as they grow or cut the lettuce bushes from below the ground. These plants produce new leaves quickly, the fruiting period is extended, and what is essentially a second harvest can be obtained from a small area.

Since leaf lettuce grows quickly, it is very beneficial for chicken gardeners to sow it repeatedly to enrich the feed with vitamins. Moreover, it can be sown even in shaded areas.

The combination of early ripening and cold resistance in leaf lettuce, the presence of varieties of different early ripening, and the use of several sowing dates make it possible without special effort get lettuce greens almost throughout the year, and with the use of insulated soil and additional lighting all year round.

(Ural Gardener No. 20-21, 2013)

Gardens of Siberia

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Urgent transplant indoor plants If problems arise in the development of indoor plants.

Flowers of memory. Plants that can be planted on a grave Sacred and spiritual meaning to.

Effective restoration of soil fertility with biological products Spring has come into its own.

Myths about hydroponics Even the pharaohs of Egypt enjoyed the taste of fruits and vegetables grown with.

LED technology for vegetable gardening on the windowsill In recent years, the idea of growing has been fresh.

Agricultural technology for growing lettuce, review of popular varieties

There are several varieties of salad: leaf, half-head, cabbage, romaine and asparagus.

The most common leaf and head lettuce.

For early production, leaf varieties are more suitable, as they are the earliest to ripen.

Sheet the salad forms a powerful rosette of 5-10 leaves within 25-35 days after germination.

It is used for spring and winter sowing; in summer it produces a stem, begins to taste bitter and loses its nutritional value.

Seed germination lasts 2-3 years.

The salad is not only tasty, it also has healing properties:

calms the nervous system, improves sleep, normalizes digestion and metabolism.

When harvesting, cut off the leaves without pulling out the entire plant.

The leaves of this salad are large, of different shapes: triangular, fan-shaped or dissected (similar to oak leaves).

Recently, various varieties have been created with leaf colors ranging from light and dark green to pink, dark red and brown.

There are leaves with smooth, blistered and even wrinkled edges, smooth or faceted.

Ballet- a new excellent lettuce of domestic selection with crispy leaves, high yielding. The leaf is fan-shaped, dark green, the edge is faceted, and the plant weight is more than 300-600 grams.

It can be grown through seedlings, but can be sown directly into the ground. Resistant to blooming and lack of lighting.

Tornado- new crispy variety. It is cultivated through seedlings by sowing from March to May or directly into the ground in early June, early August or before winter.

The variety is mid-season (55-65 days from germination to harvest), leaf height is 30 cm, very tasty, gives a good harvest, and is resistant to stemming.

Moscow greenhouse- a well-known early ripening variety (from germination to harvesting 30-40 days). Individual leaves can be cut off earlier. The bush weighs 70 grams or more.

Grown in soil and in greenhouses.

Dubachik(Czech Republic) - new variety, mid-ripening (40 days), weight 90 grams, oblong leaf, light green, slightly wavy. Valued for its ability to grow new leaves to replace those cut off when harvested.