Few salad dishes are complete without some type of lettuce, whether it is to add crispness, strength in flavour, or decorative colour. As it is salad season again, I feel I must ask you, have you sown your own lettuce this year? Those of you who have not, have still time to grow your own crop and those of you already growing this vegetable, can now carry out repeat sowings, allowing you to harvest right up until late October.

Types of lettuce

Six main types of lettuce are available for planting:

(1) The Crisphead form whose main variety is iceberg lettuce, commonly available in supermarkets as a sturdy head comparable to a small green cabbage.

(2) Butterhead lettuce, which has soft, light to dark green leaves often exhibiting red edges on a fairly closed head.

(3) Stem or Asparagus lettuce is a type grown for its edible, fleshy stalk and stiff leaves. It does not form a head.

(4) Cos lettuce, said to have originated on the Greek island of Kos, is very upright with a head of dark green or red leaves sporting thick, crunchy ribbing.

(5) Rocket salad lettuce is a low-growing form with green, notched leaves containing a mustard or pepper taste. This has exploded in popularity recently, and I have to say it is a favourite of mine.

(6) Leaf lettuce is, however, the most widely grown home garden type, producing crisp leaves loosely arranged around the stalk.

One of the reasons leaf lettuce is so popular is its ease of cultivation, plus the way in which it allows you to pick fresh leaves as you need them, while leaving the plant to grow on and produce more. Some of the most popular varieties of leaf lettuce are 'Salad Bowl', which is a reliable, wavy edged lettuce, 'Lollo Rossa' with its decorative ruffled red edge, and 'Royal Oak leaf' which has delicious nutty taste.

Sowing your own

Leaf lettuce can be planted once the soil is dry enough to allow you rake its surface to a texture similar to that of cake crumbs. Ideally your sowing location will be in partial shade, which prevents the lettuce 'bolting' (going to seed) due to strong sun and insufficient water. One the soil is raked, you can use your hand trowel or a wooden lat to form a straight channel, or 'drill' approx ½ an inch (13mm) deep.

Sow the seeds at a rate of ten seeds per linear foot of drill, in rows one foot apart if you are sowing more than one row. Once they have germinated, thin out the seedlings to six inches apart. For a good crop, keep the area around the lettuce plants weed free and watered deeply, preferably each morning.

When you come to harvest your loose-leaf lettuce, either remove a few outer leaves at a time close to the ground or else cut the head completely. Rinse the leaves in cold water with optional salt then pat dry before serving and enjoying your very own homegrown salad.

Until next week, happy gardening and remember that a weed is just a plant in the wrong place.

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