Lettuce seeds

[daylilydude]

This is gonna be my first try at growing lettuce! I bought the Romaine Dark Green Cos seeds and was wondering if it was better to start the seeds indoors or just plant them straight in the garden? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[ddsack]

Either way is fine. I have some seedlings right now, waiting for me to pull some old peas vines before I can get the lettuce in.

I find that mine does better if I start it in flats and then transplant to the garden. It's easier to keep the proper moisture for germination, and when you transplant you can space them more evenly, otherwise top watering or rain will puddle too many seeds together in a low spot. Of course you can transplant outdoor seeded too as you thin them. Lettuce doesn't seem to mind root disturbance, as long as you give it plenty of water. They might look wilty for a day, especially in the sun, but will come back.

[robin303]

I start mine in Jiffy pots and plant them when it is a little bit cooler. It is a great fall plant down here.

[shelleybean]

I've been starting mine indoors too. Somehow thinning from little pots doesn't seem as tedious as thinning out in the garden.

[cottonpicker]

I just direct sow mine in the garden and thin a little if necessary. Lettuce is easy! Good luck!

[Barbee]

I've got some lettuce I plan to start today in a SWC for a fall crop. First time for me, too. We'll have to compare notes

[b54red]

I grow a lot of lettuce and sowing directly in the garden makes thinning difficult. After a lot of trial and error have found the perfect planting trays. Take an egg carton, cut in half along the fold, poke holes in each egg shaped piece of bottom, take a piece of duct tape and cover the holes in the lid part. This gives you a planter with a water tray for a dozen plants and each compartment holds plenty of potting soil to get lettuce of spinach large enough to set in the garden and cuts down on watering. I just take an old spoon and scoop out each lettuce with a perfect little root ball and plant them.

[b54red]

Here is a picture showing some lettuce plants in my homemade egg carton planters, just before being transplanted into the garden.

[huntsman]

That looks like a great idea - thanks!

[Worth1]

I don’t over sow and plant them directly in the ground.
For cutting lettuce I plant 2 to 3 seeds every 6 inches apart and water with a fine mist.
After sprouting all I have to do is pull the critters I don’t want.
Some of these seeds are just plain tedious to plant they are so small so do as the directions say and mix them with sand.
A friend of mine planted enough seeds to do an acre of beets and carrots in rows about 10 feet long.
It was unbelievable how many plants I had to pull. What a waste.

Worth

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I don’t over sow and plant them directly in the ground.
For cutting lettuce I plant 2 to 3 seeds every 6 inches apart and water with a fine mist.
After sprouting all I have to do is pull the critters I don’t want.
Some of these seeds are just plain tedious to plant they are so small so do as the directions say and mix them with sand.
A friend of mine planted enough seeds to do an acre of beets and carrots in rows about 10 feet long.
It was unbelievable how many plants I had to pull. What a waste.

Worth

I use old dried coffee grounds and mix my small seed with them. The more coffee grounds you use the thinner the concentration of seeds will be when sown. It really works well with carrot seed which are sometimes very small. I used to use sand but the light seeds don't mix in with it as good as with coffee grounds.

[Worth1]

Coffee grounds sounds like a good idea thanks for the info b54red.

Worth

[huntsman]

I'm missing the point here -

Why mix with anything at all?

[Marko]

Fine seed is usually mixed with sand to spread it evenly. I'll try coffee grounds next year, really good idea b54red!

[b54red]

Originally Posted by huntsman

I'm missing the point here -

Why mix with anything at all?

When you mix fine seed with something that keeps the seeds evenly dispersed it makes it easier to sow them without getting too many seed in one location. I used to spend hours thinning carrots and lettuce because they would be too thick in the row. I still sometimes have to thin them a little but generally get a good even distribution.
I pour out the approximate number of seed I want to plant and add one or two tablespoons of used coffee grounds and shake them up in a small jar. I then pour them in an envelope with a crease in it and shake them out by tapping the envelope as I move it down the row holding it about an inch above the soil. I can see the seed as they fall out mixed with the coffee grounds and usually can control the spacing pretty well.