Lettuce: May Queen
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KEY
Annual | 7-14 days | JAN-JUN | ~60 days
ABOUT
This 19th century heirloom is commonly used as a salad in French cuisine. While originating from Europe, it is not precisely known from where. The May Queen’s soft, tender green leaves are mild in flavour and sometimes have a slight blush of pink near the centre. It is a popular variety due to its quick growth, harvesting multiple times throughout its growing season.
SOWING & PLANTING
🌱 Soil Type: Lettuce grows best in either loamy or sandy soil.
☀️ Sunlight: Lettuce plants require full sun exposure of at least six hours long. However, it may benefit from a few hours of afternoon shade in the hottest summer weather.
Indoors:
Soak your seeds a couple of days before you plan to sow them as this will aid the germination period. When sowing, fill your pot with nutrient rich loamy or sandy soil and pat firm. Plant the seeds around 0.5cm deep and cover with a thin layer of soil at 25cm apart.
They are ready to transplant once they are 5 to 7 cm tall. If you are planting them outdoors, it is good to leave them outdoors for a few hours in 3 to 5 days beforehand to acclimatize.
🌱 Let sow for 7 to 14 days before moving to a bigger pot or outdoors.
💚 Care Tip: It is advised to wait until there are a few leaves developing before transplanting outdoors!
Outdoors:
If directly sown, thin seedlings 25cm apart in rich, moist soil, with rows up to 7cm apart to give mature plants room to spread out. Do not allow the seabed to get really dry. In cooler climates, lettuce can grow through the spring, summer and autumn.
Tip a small amount of seed into your hand, take a pinch and spread thinly along the trench. Cover with soil, label and water. When the seedlings are about 2cm (1in) tall, thin them out to give them space to grow, 15 to 20cm (6 to 8in). Replant or eat the seedlings. Make successional sowings at 14 day intervals.
GROWING & CARE
💧 If it is wet, hold off on watering. If it is dry, give a shallow soak. If there is no rain, a light-to-moderate watering at least twice a week is enough.
Indoors:
If you plan to grow lettuce indoors, choose a spot with as much sunlight as possible such as a south-facing window. When your seedlings look leggy and yellowed, the plants are light-starved. Water a low-to-moderate amount that is proportionate to the size of the pot.
💚 Care Tip: A good indication when to water your lettuces is when the leaves begin to wilt
Outdoors:
First, ensure that the soil does not have a slug infestation. The key to tender and tasty lettuce is rapid growth. To encourage this, add plenty of finished compost before planting and again as a side-dressing a week or so after seedlings appear or when transplanted. Give supplemental feedings of compost every two weeks until the first harvest.
During the summer, a mulch of grass clippings, salt hay, clean straw, or the like, will keep weeds out and the growing soil moist and cool. The plants need constant ground moisture, particularly so if rainfall is rare. This is particularly important when lettuces are one or two weeks away from harvest, as dry soil will cause the plant to produce flowers.
In winter, some lettuces mature in around 50 to 60 days. This is because their growth slows in cold weather, a trait that growers can use to their advantage. In cold weather, a lettuce can stand fresh and be ready to pick for over 2 months. However, they will need protection, and it is recommended to use a fleece. If you protect the crop from very cold or wet weather, and if you get the timing right, it will stand in perfect condition right through the winter!
💚 Care Tip: Slugs will leave holes in your lettuce leaves affecting the quality of your harvest. To prevent them, mulch the area with grit or use organic slug pellets.
COMPANION VARIETIES
Eggplant
Beetroot
Radish
Coriander
HARVESTING
Lettuce should be harvested in the morning when it is at its most hydrated and its strongest. This provides maximum carotene and best taste. It can be harvested as early as 30 and up to over 50 days.
Indoor lettuce plants grow and mature continually and can be harvested throughout the year. However, it is advised not to harvest the plant all at once. As long as you continue to care for it, it can harvest for several months.
To do this, cut 3 to 4 of the outer leaves at a time with a garden shear or scissors, leaving the rest of the plant to heal and grow back. Avoid picking the lettuce crown and center and the plant should be ready to harvest again in about two weeks.
💚 Care Tip: Sow additional seeds every 2 weeks to extend your harvest
The harvest is over when the lettuce’s central stem starts to form. This is the signal that it is about to bolt and the leaves will start getting bitter.
PRESERVING
Refrigerate your lettuce for 5 to 8 days after harvesting. Depending on the variety, lettuce can last anywhere between 3 to 10 days in the refrigerator. Check how long your specific variety lasts for and, after placing it in the fridge, plan to use it by its expiration date.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Lettuce is known to be great for the immune system as it is rich in Vitamin C, K and iron. Lactuca Sativa is also very low in calories, making a great and healthy addition to any meal.
