Growing Lettuce From Sprouts

Seed Starting

• Lettuce seeds only require seven to 10 days to sprout when seeded indoors if you maintain a temperature between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. You can sow two seeds 1/4-inch deep in individual 2-inch-diameter seedling pots, or plant the seeds 2 inches apart in rows set 2 inches apart in a seedling flat. After the seedlings sprout, they need six or more hours of daily sunlight and the soil requires watering when the surface begins to dry.

Transplanting

• Sprouts are ready to transplant when they are five to six weeks old. A well-drained garden bed that receives about six hours of daily sunlight provides a suitable growing bed. Working a 2-inch-deep layer of compost and 1 cup of 16-16-8 fertilizer per 25 square feet into the bed supplies the necessary nutrients for healthy growth. Plant lettuce sprouts in the garden at the same depth they were growing at previously. Leaf lettuce varieties require 6 inches between plants in the row, while head-forming types need 10 to 12 inches between plants. Set rows 18 to 24 inches apart.

Care

• Once planted, lettuce sprouts require only minimal maintenance to reach maturity. The plants require about 1 inch of water applied in a weekly deep watering, which is enough to moisten the soil to a 6-inch depth. Covering the soil with a 2-inch layer of mulch helps conserve the soil moisture and suppresses weed growth. An application of ¼ cup of 21-0-0 fertilizer per 10-foot lettuce row, applied when the plants are four weeks old, helps encourage leaf production. Spread the fertilizer over the soil 6 inches from the base of the lettuce and irrigate immediately after application.

Harvest

• Leaf lettuce provides an ongoing harvest. You can pick the outer leaves from the plant at any time after it grows 4 to 6 inches tall, or cut back the entire plant to within 2 inches of the ground. It will resprout and send up new leaves if you don't damage the roots. Head-forming lettuce is harvested when the heads are full-size and firm. Cut these off from the roots at the soil surface. Head-forming lettuce will not resprout from the roots.