Lettuce is one of the oldest vegetables, known since the time of the ancient Egyptians who attributed aphrodisiac effects to it.
Greek doctors attributed a slight sedative action to it, while the Romans, who used lettuce at the end of meals as a digestive, spread its cultivation throughout the West. Hence the name romaine lettuce.
Lettuce comes from the Latin "lactis" (milk) because it contains a whitish liquid similar to milk in its head.
Today, romaine lettuce, along with canasta, is the most common variety on Italian tables.
Low in calories (15 per 100 g), composed of 95% water, rich in minerals and vitamins, and easy and quick to prepare, lettuce has diuretic properties, helps the intestines, contributes to regulating blood sugar levels, and, due to its satiating power, is a staple in weight loss diets.
However, most of the lettuces you find in supermarkets come from abroad and are grown using chemical products.
So why not grow romaine lettuce completely organically right in your garden or even in a pot on your balcony?
You will harvest a vegetable that, in terms of quality and flavor, has nothing to do with the lettuce available commercially.
From fertilization to pest protection, you can use absolutely natural products and, why not, do it yourself.
If you want to start growing this fresh variety, the good news is that it’s easier than you think as long as you perform the right operations from sowing to harvesting.
In this article, you will discover the 9 golden rules for successfully growing romaine lettuce:
- Know Romaine Lettuce
- Work and Fertilize the Soil
- Know the Suitable Climate for Growing Romaine Lettuce
- Sow and Transplant at the Right Times and in the Right Ways
- Provide the Right Amount of Water While Avoiding Stagnation
- Use Mulching Against Weeds
- Protect Lettuce from Pests and Diseases Organically
- Harvest at the Right Time
- Consult a Trusted Retailer
1. Know Romaine Lettuce
What is romaine lettuce? It may seem like a trivial question, but in the vast world of lettuces, it can be easy to get confused.
Romaine lettuce is characterized by straight leaves and an elongated, compact head. Its color ranges from the white of the base to the light green of the central part, up to the dark green of the outer leaves and the top part.
Its leaves are wavy, its texture crunchy, and its flavor delicate and slightly sweet.
Depending on the harvest period, three main categories of romaine lettuce can be distinguished: winter blonde, summer blonde, and gardener's green.
In jargon, it is often incorrectly referred to as salad, but in reality, salad is the dish made from its preparation.
2. Work and Fertilize the Soil
Romaine lettuce adapts well to any type of soil. However, the ideal soil for its cultivation has a medium, crumbly, and soft texture.
Before proceeding with sowing and transplanting, you must ensure that you have well-tilled the soil with a hoe to make it soft and free of depressions to avoid water stagnation that would ruin the plants.
Fertilization is essential because this variety of lettuce needs a good concentration of nitrogen. Organic fertilizer, rich in nitrogen, should be well mixed into the soil 10-15 days before transplanting. You can use, for example, an organic pelletized manure.
3. Know the Suitable Climate for Growing Romaine Lettuce
In general, lettuce is a rather resilient plant and adaptable to different climatic conditions.
The optimal temperature for its growth is 15-20°C, but it also withstands low temperatures well and can be grown in the open field from late winter (except in regions with particularly harsh climates) until autumn.
Romaine lettuce is very sensitive to heat, which risks causing it to mature too quickly. Therefore, to grow this variety correctly, a cooler climate is preferable.
So, especially if you live in a region that reaches very high temperatures, the ideal periods for cultivation are autumn and early spring.
The "cousin" canasta lettuce (which develops wider than romaine and has a stronger flavor) prefers a warmer climate, so for this variety, start growing in spring/summer.
Sun exposure is also important. Lettuce should be grown in partial shade, meaning half a day of sun and half a day of shade. If your garden does not allow for this (for example, if it faces south), you can use a not too heavy shading cloth.
4. Sow and Transplant at the Right Times and in the Right Ways
If you want to grow romaine lettuce, you don’t necessarily need a large plot of land: a small garden or a few pots on the balcony will suffice.
The basic rules are the same, but there will be differences mainly related to the available space, which, on a balcony and thus in pots, will likely be more limited.
Sowing in the Field or in Seedbeds
Head lettuces can generally be sown directly in the field or in seedbeds. If you want to sow directly in the garden (definitely easier if you have no experience), you should sow in clusters, creating small equidistant holes where you insert the seeds (2 or 3 per cluster).
For good vegetable development, you must first respect the distance between plants, which, in the case of lettuces, is 40 cm between rows and 25 cm within the row.
Alternatively, you can use a seedbed, which is a protected, naturally heated place by sunlight and temporary, where seeds are planted that will then be transplanted into the ground once they have become seedlings.
You can use simple pots or a peat seedbed that is rich in trace elements, ensuring rapid seedling growth. 100% biodegradable, it allows you to plant the entire peat pot into the ground.
Pots, if you sow in summer, should be kept in a cool place (a simple cellar, for example) to protect them from summer heat, while in winter, in a heated place.
For lettuces, the sowing period is quite broad, although variable based on your climatic zone.
From February to May, you can sow in seedbeds for spring and summer cultivation, while August and September are suitable for autumn sowing. In the open field from April to June.
For sowing romaine lettuce in the open field, as we have already mentioned, autumn and early spring are better.
Keep in mind that, when working in a seedbed, starting from seed, the times become much longer. It takes at least 20-30 days to form a seedling for transplanting into the garden.
The best way to grow romaine lettuce or other varieties of lettuce is to schedule staggered sowing: stagger sowing and transplanting every 15 days.
This is because lettuce, after maturing, must be harvested quickly; otherwise, it rots. This is the inconvenience you will face if you transplant an excessive number of lettuces at the same time.
With staggered scheduling, you can harvest a product that is always fresh and in quantities suitable for your consumption.
As for transplanting, it can be done all year round, avoiding, especially in regions where the climate is milder and free of frost. For any doubts, consult the "2022 Garden Calendar: sowing, transplanting, and harvesting for every climate and area of Italy".
Whether you have grown seedlings in a seedbed or, for convenience, have purchased already formed seedlings, remember that the cube must remain above the soil by one third to avoid the head, as it grows, from pressing against the soil and causing rot.
During transplanting, it is also useful to spread soil around the cube.
If you prefer to buy salad or lettuce seedlings already ready for transplanting, discover the wide assortment from Millstore that offers you the possibility to receive them directly at your home within 48 hours and guarantees replacement if they arrive damaged.
Growing Romaine Lettuce on the Balcony
Making a garden on the balcony is an increasingly popular practice, especially in cities where we talk about "urban gardens", so much so that it has garnered attention from major news outlets.
The first element to consider for growing on the balcony is the choice of pots, which must be the right size for the vegetable they will host.
To grow lettuce, a pot of at least 50 centimeters in width and 25 centimeters in height is necessary.
Again, you can choose to sow directly in the pot, or to grow seedlings in a seedbed, or finally, to purchase already formed seedlings ready for transplanting.
In any case, the important thing is that you sow or transplant the seedlings in a slightly staggered manner rather than in a single row so that, as they grow, they do not disturb each other.
It is also important that you choose a good potting soil to which you might add some homemade compost.
The final result you will achieve by growing on the balcony will be of excellent quality, even if the heads will be smaller since the vegetable has less space to develop.
An excellent alternative for the balcony is cutting lettuces, which are easier to grow in pots and allow for multiple cuts from the same seedlings. You can make the first cut just 10 days after transplanting.
5. Provide the Right Amount of Water While Avoiding Stagnation
Irrigation is a fundamental aspect of garden cultivation. In beginner manuals, the first advice given is not to overdo it. Plants must have the right amount of water. Too much is as harmful as too little.
Regarding lettuces, we are talking about vegetables that need to have the soil always well-moistened but fear water stagnation that would cause them to rot.
Of course, water needs vary depending on the season. If you grow romaine lettuce in autumn, you will need to water it less than in spring/summer.
The moment of transplanting is when the water requirement is higher. In summer, water once a day either in the morning or in the evening. In spring and autumn, if you can, it’s better in the morning.
Finding the right water balance for romaine lettuce becomes even more essential in the case of balcony cultivation, where you will need to water often and little, also considering the material of the pots: those in terracotta dry out faster than those in plastic, so observe how they behave.
A drip micro-irrigation set can be the suitable solution for both a small garden and a balcony garden, as it ensures the fulfillment of water needs even if you have to be away and provides a balanced amount of water.
6. Use Mulching Against Weeds
Weeds pose a danger to romaine lettuce. It is therefore advisable to keep the soil around the plants clean by uprooting weeds that would hinder their growth, especially in the initial phase.
A valid and essential help in this regard comes from mulching, which consists of covering the soil around the plants with cost-free materials such as straw, dry leaves, bark, or plant waste materials, or for convenience, you can choose mulching mats.
Mulching is also useful for ensuring the right temperature for the surface part of the roots, protecting them from excessive heat in summer and cold in winter.
7. Protect Lettuce from Pests and Diseases Organically
If you have correctly carried out all the previous phases, you have already taken the first step to keep pests and diseases at bay.
In particular, avoid the formation of water stagnation to keep fungi like botrytis, also known as gray mold, away, which, like all molds, proliferates with excess moisture.
As for pests, if you want to grow romaine lettuce, you should know that its main enemies are snails, especially during rainy and humid periods.
The most dangerous period is the initial growth phase. A snail attack during this time risks destroying the entire harvest.
This pest not only literally eats the leaves but also leaves droppings and eggs that are not dangerous for the plant or your health but are certainly unpleasant and will require thorough washing before using the lettuce in the kitchen.
To combat snail attacks while avoiding killing them, you can resort to biological and DIY remedies that exploit the fact that the pest moves by crawling and that its body is slimy.
You should therefore use substances that hinder its movement, such as wood ash (from the fireplace or stove, to be clear) mixed with coffee. The consistency of this mixture makes it difficult for snails to move, and they will prefer to change paths.
You should spread the mixture around the plants periodically.
Alternatively, you can also use crushed eggshells in the same way.
If you prefer a simpler and "cleaner" remedy, you can resort to a bio snail bait in granular form. Once the snails ingest the bait, they stop feeding and therefore no longer damage the crops, simultaneously stopping the production of slime and thus limiting bad odors.
8. Harvest at the Right Time
When is the right time to harvest lettuce?
Lettuce should not be left to mature too long because it rots quickly. It’s better to start harvesting a few days early.
If, as we have seen, you have sown in a staggered manner, the harvest will also be staggered, and if you have calculated well, you should not have problems.
A simple trick to know if your lettuce is ready is to feel the head. If it feels full, you can harvest; otherwise, you will have to wait a few more days.
The situation is slightly different if you are growing on a balcony. As we have already seen, the size of the head will never reach the same dimensions as a lettuce planted in the field.
In this case, harvest when the head has reached a decent size and the leaves are still a lighter green and tender.
9. Consult a Trusted Retailer
We have seen what rules you need to follow if you want to start growing romaine lettuce, whether in a garden or in a pot on a balcony.
We started with soil preparation and fertilization, moving on to sowing and transplanting based on your climate, irrigation, protection from fungi and pests, and finally harvesting.
Nothing particularly complicated, and it allows you to use many DIY tips for the care of your crop.
However, if you are a beginner, it may be helpful to ask for advice on the varieties best suited to your soil and climate and on the most useful and practical products to use based on your needs.
Millstore provides you with a team of professionals and experts ready to answer all your questions and give you help to resolve your doubts and concerns.
Do not hesitate to contact us by phone, email, WhatsApp, or through the chat on our website.