Lettuce (Lactuca saliva) likes cooler temperatures, so when growing these plants in hot weather, it is best to plant them where they will be shaded during the hottest part of the day. Temperatures that are too high can cause bitter tasting lettuce or make the plants shoot up tall flower stalks. Also keep in mind that leafy lettuce does better in heat than head lettuce.

Lettuce has shallow roots, so it needs to be watered often. When planting lettuce from seeds, plants should be thinned out to at least 4-6 inches apart. Lettuce should be planted periodically throughout the growing season since it is always eaten fresh and does not store well.

How much can I save by growing my own lettuce?

Well it depends on how much salad you eat, but let’s do a little cost-analysis.

One packet of “lettuce blend” (mixture of different leaf lettuces) contains about 1000 seeds and costs about $2.25. After you factor in dud seeds and thinning out, you can probably get 60-80 good plants out of a packet of seeds.

Now, keep in mind that this lettuce is not only fresh and delicious right out of your garden, but it is also organic! A head of organic romaine lettuce retails for about $2.50-2.99 in my grocery store, so for less than the price of buying one head of lettuce, you could harvest 60-80 throughout your growing season!!! This is a HUGE savings on your grocery bill, especially if you eat salads regularly (and of course you should because it’s good for you!)

You can Find lettuce seeds online to get started--lettuce eat!

For more information, check out http://www.lettucegrowingtips.com