Lettuce - is it too late?

hitchhiker90 26/3/2019, 2:16 pm

Hi All,

It's been a while since I last posted on here and giving SFG another try however I'm a little confused on the spring planting season. I was wanting to plant some lettuce and thought I was getting in early on it but after some research the information I read said I should have started it indoors a few weeks ago. The last frost date for my area is April 11th. This is where I need some help. Is it too late to plant lettuce and maybe some other spring crops in the SFG from seed? And if its not too late, should I do it now or do I wait until after the last spring frost on April 11th? Any help and assistance is greatly appreciated.

**sanderson** 26/3/2019, 9:10 pm

Hi, Hitchhiker, happy hi

I hope someone from your area can help you. It's past the last frost date here in Central California. I'm hoping to plant some Four Season lettuce. However, it's 80*F during the day so I don't know how well it will germinated. All leaf lettuces do great here in the winter. Maybe you can buy some 6-packs as back ups?

Mikesgardn 27/3/2019, 2:16 pm

Lettuce can be planted outside before your average last frost. Here in Maryland, I plant lettuce outside around March 15. So plant outside now! Our spring season is very short, and lettuce does not do well in the heat. So I recommend that you plant the lettuce very dense, 9 per square foot, and harvest the leave early before it gets too hot.

Mikesgardn 27/3/2019, 2:26 pm

Most states have planting guides for vegetable gardeners. This is a good guide for eastern NC.
https://pender.ces.ncsu.edu/files/library/71/VegPlantingGuide.pdf

hitchhiker90 30/3/2019, 1:49 pm

Thanks Sanderson.

Thanks Mikesgardn. I should have checked with NCSU first since they are big agricultural school not far from me. I'm going to finish up the second SFG tomorrow morning and start planting.

hitchhiker90 12/5/2019, 2:39 pm

How do you know when its time to harvest? I planted some lettuce on 4/2/2019 and much to my surprise 2 of the 4 varieties I planted actually grew. In one picture it has romaine lettuce which still looks a little small and the package says it takes 68 days to harvest so I'm ok with letting that go even though it does look like I can harvest it now.

The other is looseleaf lettuce which is starting to outgrow my square foot and getting a little large. The package says to harvest in 45 days which would be May 17. Should I wait until then or can I pick it now? Are there any hard rules to go by for harvesting your crops?

Thanks in advance.

**AtlantaMarie** 12/5/2019, 9:51 pm

Start picking the outer leaves & enjoy! They look great!!

MrBooker 14/5/2019, 9:05 am

sanderson wrote:Hi, Hitchhiker, I hope someone from your area can help you. It's past the last frost date here in Central California. I'm hoping to plant some Four Season lettuce. However, it's 80*F during the day so I don't know how well it will germinated. All leaf lettuces do great here in the winter. Maybe you can buy some 6-packs as back ups?

Sanderson, I agree. Buy some 6 packs (or a couple 12 packs) drink'em all up and don't worry about the lettuce.... Lettuce - is it too late? 3170584802

"hiccup, belch, burp, and fart". Scuze me pleeze. rofl

MrBooker 14/5/2019, 9:15 am

hitchhiker90 wrote:How do you know when its time to harvest? I planted some lettuce on 4/2/2019 and much to my surprise 2 of the 4 varieties I planted actually grew. In one picture it has romaine lettuce which still looks a little small and the package says it takes 68 days to harvest so I'm ok with letting that go even though it does look like I can harvest it now.

The other is looseleaf lettuce which is starting to outgrow my square foot and getting a little large. The package says to harvest in 45 days which would be May 17. Should I wait until then or can I pick it now? Are there any hard rules to go by for harvesting your crops?

Thanks in advance.

IMHO: Their are no hard rules on when to harvest. Things like Lettuce, Radish, Scallions, peas and green beans and other veggies, I just harvest when I need need to.

Mikesgardn 14/5/2019, 11:20 am

Start harvesting the outer leaves now before it gets too hot! Lettuce gets bitter when the weather gets hot. That is why I recommend planting the lettuce very dense (9 per SF) in springtime in the south, and harvest them early.

hitchhiker90 14/5/2019, 2:50 pm

I ended up picking the outer leaves as suggested and used them on some sandwiches as a condiment. Will probably pick a few more and make a small side salad.

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