Table of Content
To harvest, remove the entire head once it’s large and feels tightly packed. The outer leaves are edible, but not as pleasant to eat as the sweet inner leaves. I recently stepped into organic urban farming in pursuit of having fresh homegrown vegetables. And this was made simple and exciting, thanks to organicterrace.in and its founder Mr Prabal Mallick. I started off with eggplants which came out to be really delicious and now I have tomatoes, ginger, lemon, herbs, beans and garlic growing in my terrace garden. Now I am more confident on growing more fruits and vegetables; All thanks to organicterrace.in and the guidance of Prabal Bhai.
Thinning simply means trimming a few plants so that the others get room to grow. You will know your iceberg lettuce are in need of more water when their leaves wilt, yellow, and/or the plant begins to droop. But be careful, this can also happen if the plant receives too much water. This is a difficult balance for most novice gardeners. But the more time you spend with your iceberg lettuce, the better you’ll be able to gauge how thirsty they are.
How to Grow Iceberg Lettuce
If you’re expecting a late or early frost after planting, protect your iceberg lettuce with a blanket of straw or cover them with plastic buckets. Lettuce transplantedLettuce is a sun loving plant, but only so in cold climates. If your daytime temperature is going beyond 25°C you need to protect your plants from heat. You can do so by keeping your lettuce plant under partial shade. I use a 75% sun block shade cloth in my shade house as sun rays are quite vertical and temperature is quite high here.
You can also add into chicken or tuna salad, onto sandwiches, or in rice or grain bowls for more of that textural variance as well as a bit of additional nutritional value. This lettuce has become a staple in numerous dishes as it has risen in popularity and its growth has become more widespread over the years. Now you can easily fit Iceberg Lettuce into your diet in a variety of ways. Walking the fine line between neutral flavor and a hint of sweetness, Iceberg Lettuce has earned its place as one of the world’s favorite lettuce varieties. Read on to learn more about the confetti of crisp greens, perfect for use in all sorts of dishes.
How to Regrow Iceberg Lettuce after Harvest
Put plants where they will have some shade from taller plants. Mulching is necessary for ensuring adequate moisture and also keeping weed growth at bay. Fertilizing may help in quicker growth although do this carefully.
You can grow the iceberg lettuce in a patch as well. Lettuce is a quick salad crop and is usually harvested within a few weeks of planting the first seeds. It is one of the few vegetables that can be grown as easily in containers as it is in the ground. This means the best time to plant them is mid to early spring, and mid to late summer for a fall harvest.
Q1: WHEN WAS ICEBERG LETTUCE INVENTED?
If you’re growing lettuce in late summer, seedlings require a partially shaded area to grow to avoid too much heat affecting their growth. Iceberg lettuce seeds around four weeks before the last dregs of winters and transplanting them outdoors around mid or late spring. Growing Iceberg lettuce is similar to growing most any other kind of lettuce.
Once all of the seedlings have sprouted, cut off the extra sprouts at the level of the soil’s surface. It’s also one of the less expensive lettuce varieties for sourcing in bulk. Growing iceberg lettuce at home is rewarding and more cost-effective in the long run, and there’s no denying the satisfaction in going from garden to table. A cloche is any cover that protects outdoor plants, and while many are available for purchase, make your own cloches by recycling a plastic water jug or a large pop bottle. Cut off the bottom portion of the bottle or jug with a blade and place the plastic cloche over your plant.
Removing all plant matter after growing a garden is very harmful to soil health and soil nutrient levels. Lettuce does well in most soils, but for the best results, we recommend sowing your heirloom seeds in soil with a pH of 6.2 to 6.8. Treat your soil before planting with lime as needed to reach the desired pH and keep the soil moist after planting. Here are some tips on how you can store lettuce after harvest. In the initial 5-6 days of the plantation, cover your plants with shade cover.
When the seeds germinate, they will turn into small seedlings. Thin them out, one 2-3 tiny leaves begins to appear. Thinning means trimming a few plants so that they get a enough space for growth. Get the soil that is well mixed with composted organic matter. Just follow the instruction for sowing and maintenance which will help constant growth and consistent supply.
Typically, iceberg lettuce seeds take about weeks to fully germinate. Plant iceberg lettuce seeds in a shallow seed tray. Fill the bottom of each cell of the tray with some standard potting soil before you sprinkle a few seeds into each cell.
Apply the fertilizer at least once a week for 3-4 weeks. If transplanting, the best time to move iceberg lettuce plants outside is when they reach inches ( centimetres) tall or have at least true leaves. Lettuce seeds can be saved for the next season.As we grow for our own consumption and sharing with our friends and neighbors we harvest lettuce exactly when we need them. For example if we are making a salad, then we get everything ready and just before tossing everything together we go to our garden and get the required amount of leaves. It is best to harvest lettuce just before you are going to eat them as the fresher the leaves the better the taste. And by the way, this is the best part when you grow lettuce at home; You cant get them any fresher.
And when you have harvested those leaves do not harvest again form the same plant for 8-10 days. There are several methods to keep the aphid population under control when growing iceberg lettuce, the first being prevention. Like all lettuce varieties, iceberg lettuce enjoys moist soil, so test your soil weekly.
I feel I now understand the entire process of soil preparation, composting, crop rotation etc much better. I am back into gardening with renewed vigour and am looking forward to a bumper harvest this season. Water the lettuce three to four times a week to keep the soil moist. Don’t worry about watering this much if you’re experiencing a lot of rain.
Direct Seeding to Soil
But, before you head out to your garden with your harvesting tools, water the plants and wait minutes. Always harvest lettuce during the early hours of the morning. The leaves would be more fresh and crisp during this time. It would be a good idea to mulch your well-manured soil beds with a dry straw before transplanting.
No comments:
Post a Comment