How to Grow Lettuce Successfully

Prepare the planting area in the spring or fall when the temperature ranges between 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Cultivate the soil down to a depth of 3 to 4 inches with the garden spade. Add 2 inches of aged compost over the soil to improve drainage. Add 3 to 4 lbs. of granular fertilizer for every 100 square feet of growing space. Mix the compost, fertilizer and soil well with the spade. Rake the soil smooth.

Scatter the seeds evenly over a 12-inch-wide row to plant the lettuce using the wide-row method. Cover the seeds with about 1/4 inch of garden soil.

Moisten the planting area evenly with water immediately after you finish planting the seeds. Keep the soil evenly moist throughout the entire growing season to help the plants develop healthy leaves.

Thin the seedlings when they get 3 to 4 inches tall. Pull the weakest leaf lettuce seedlings to leave the plants growing about 6 inches apart. Pull the weakest romaine lettuce seedlings to leave the plants growing about 10 inches apart. Pull the weakest crisphead lettuce seedlings to leave the plants growing about 12 inches apart.

Apply a 2-inch-thick layer of shredded mulch after you thin the lettuce row to reduce weeds and conserve soil moisture.

Pull weeds by hand if they appear so you do not disturb the lettuce roots.

Cut off leaves to harvest them when they are 4 to 6 inches long. Use the scissors to cut the leaves off just above the soil level. To harvest crisphead, cut the head off when it becomes firm.