Summer Iceberg Lettuce Traper

Lactuca sativa - Traper

Lettuce is an annual plant that was bred from prickly lettuce. It is grown in both heading and leaf forms with smooth, round leaves of light green color. There are several types of this vegetable: romaine lettuce, semi-romaine lettuce, butterhead lettuce, leaf lettuces, and finally iceberg lettuces.

Heading and leaf lettuce are the most commonly grown. According to cultivation, they can be divided into early, summer, for greenhouse planting, heated greenhouses, outdoor, etc. Iceberg lettuce has firm, crisp leaves, with a head resembling cabbage. Romaine lettuce resembles Chinese cabbage. It is often considered by gourmets to be the tastiest lettuce. Iceberg lettuce is valued for its crispness and firm head. It is characterized by excellent taste and outstanding crispness.

Lettuces contain 10–15% proteins, 15–27% carbohydrates, 3–6% fats, 9–12% fiber. Among vitamins, they have high content of C, E, A and PP, and among other substances we must not overlook the content of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, chlorine and magnesium. It has minimal calories, making it suitable for weight loss diets. Butterhead lettuce is suitable for more classic preparation with sweet and sour dressing, or with fried bacon. Romaine lettuce can also be braised with meat, used in rolls, stuffing, risotto, etc. There are no limits to creativity.

How to Grow Lettuce

• A sunny location is suitable. During growth, water regularly - preferably in smaller doses, more frequently. Regular weeding of the bed is necessary. Never grow plants in the same location for more than 2 years in a row. Mulching lettuce with organic material is recommended. It prevents weed growth, maintains moisture and lower temperature in hot months.

• Spring varieties are sown in February in a hotbed. In March or April, transplant them to a spacing of 20–25×20–25cm.

  Summer varieties are sown directly in the bed in April, the final plant spacing should be 25×30 cm.

  Autumn varieties are sown directly in the bed in August, the final plant spacing should be 25×25 cm.

  Overwintering varieties are sown in October directly in the bed.

  Sow seeds directly into the soil approximately 1 cm below the surface. It is advisable to soak the seeds beforehand. After emergence, plants must be thinned to the above-mentioned spacings. Avoid covering the lettuce heart when thinning.

• Lettuce requires well-drained soil with plenty of readily available nutrients. Soils should be lighter and well worked.

• Beds intended for growing lettuce must be well prepared for cultivation. When preparing beds, incorporate 3–5 kg of compost/m2 into the soil, lime with a dose of 3 kg limestone/m2 and add 1.8 P2O5/m2 and 14g K2O/m2.

  When fertilizing, it is important to be careful about nitrogen over-fertilization. Dangerous nitrates then accumulate in the leaves. Do not fertilize beds with farmyard manure!

• Bacterial rot of lettuce initially manifests as sharply defined, dark blackening spots. The first lower leaves that are on the ground are affected.

  Calcium deficiency causes marginal leaf necrosis, where leaves gradually turn brown and subsequently die. The outer leaves are most often damaged this way, but it can also be leaves hidden inside formed heads. Treat with Champion 50 WP and perform soil disinfection.

  Downy mildew manifests mainly on older leaves, where light green to yellow-green spots of various sizes appear, often bordered by veins. The spots gradually enlarge, dry out and become necrotic. Treat with Rovral 50 WP or Rovral FLO.

  Plants are also attacked by gray mold and can be eaten by slugs or attacked by aphids.

  Treat them with suitable preparations against fungal diseases. It is important to observe the protective period before consumption.

• Leaf lettuce is harvested as early as 7 weeks after sowing. Butterhead lettuce after 10-11 weeks and romaine lettuce a week longer. Butterhead, romaine and curly lettuce must be harvested whole as soon as they grow to the desired size.