Control them with bait traps or hand-picking. The USDA has issued a recall for some products. In the Pacific Northwest, slugs are likely to be the most problematic pests for lettuce. Cut whole heads off at ground level with a sharp knife. Pick individual leaves of loose-leaf and the outside of heads. Keep moist with a soaker hose and use mulch to retain moisture and keep soil cool. Weed shallowly, disturbing only the top inch or so of soil.

Harden off transplants and set out at final spacing.Īpply a 10-10-10 fertilizer 2-3 times during the growing season. If planting in rows, leave 16”-18” between them. When two or three true leaves form, thin to 10”-12” for loose leaf types, 14”-16” for romaines, crisp-heads and butterheads. Cover lightly and press soil down gently. Sow in rows or blocks ¼” deep and fairly thickly. As with all small seed, we cover with potting soil instead of garden soil that has a tendency to produce a hard crust.

Lettuce seed is small, so rake and sift the topsoil until it is fine and smooth. Add and incorporate lime to a depth of about 12”. Till in the cover-crop and work in quite a bit of well-rotted manure and compost if you didn’t do it in the fall. Lettuce can also be under-planted and inter-planted in the garden: plant it in the shade under slow growers like leeks, celery, broccoli or cauliflower, among or edging flower beds, or in tubs or pots along with eggplant or tomatoes.

Prepare next year’s spring beds by tilling in compost and planting a legume cover-crop.ĭeeply cultivated raised beds are an optimum choice for lettuce, but a well-drained, sunny, sheltered spot with good loam will work.

Cover with cloches or cold frames in late fall.

Start a fall crop in flats in late summer.

Harvest all types as needed for fresh use.

Apply shade cloth or floating row cover to delay bolting.

Direct sow all varieties when soil can be worked using successive planting every 2-3 weeks.

Sow all types in cold frames in late February in the PNW.

For the earliest spring crop, start indoors 6 weeks before the last frost.

Red-leaved varieties of Romaine like Outredgeous or Marshall provide the most nutrients. Loose-leaf varieties, like Romaine, contain the most high-protein chlorophyl and other phytonutrients. It is also a good source of folate and Vitamin C, B-complex, and minerals including magnesium, iron, and potassium. Lettuce is a low-cal way to get many of the necessary vitamins and minerals including a whopping 247% of daily vitamin A and a good dose of beta carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body. Varieties include butterhead with its round, smooth-leaved, open head and quick maturation common or crisp-head (iceberg) which is much like butterhead but with a tighter head and crisper center loose-leaf, with no distinct heart and longer indented leaves and romaine or cos, an upright variety with a tight heart amidst oblong leaves.īutterheads mature in as little as 34 days, crispheads around 60 days, loose-leaf and romaine types in 50-60 days. Our relatively mild winters also make it possible to harvest lettuce from a cold frame throughout the winter. In the Pacific Northwest our long mild spring weather makes for ideal lettuce growing conditions. It is a hardy cool-season annual and will turn bitter and send up a seed stalk (called bolting) in hot weather. Domestic lettuce is an Asian native related to wild lettuce (Latura scariola,) and belongs to the daisy family (Asteraceae.) She's working both to import seeds and to bring Italian farmers out to consult on growing methods and practices in Oregon and Washington.Delicious crisp lettuce (Lactuca sativa) with its huge variety of cultivars is the mainstay of fresh green salads and one of the most popular garden vegetables. The major factors of success, Selman says, are seed quality and farming practices. Some radicchio types are resilient enough to be “held” in the field as well-left ostensibly to rot, their outer plumage beginning to decompose while the inner core grows sweeter in the winter’s frost. All varietals are planted in July or August, but mature at different rates some are ready in two months, while others take as long as four to reach maturity. The Pacific Northwest sits on the same latitude as the Veneto, providing similar weather, and our days are similar lengths.īut radicchio is a fickle and demanding crop, filled with nuance and wonder-that’s what’s drawn so many to this sub-culture-which also means crop failure is a big worry. As Burgundian pinot noir flourishes in Oregon and Washington because of our similar climates, so too does radicchio. Our bright-leafed savior comes from the Veneto region of Italy, where it’s been a fixture of the local diet for centuries.

Pacific romaine hearts