Growing Your Own Organic Lettuce

Eco-conscious homeowners use eco cleaning products and do non-toxic cleaning as a

way to ensure their families safety and to make their lifestyle more sustainable and green. Others use natural personal care items or eat organically-grown produce. Some people go the extra mile by growing their own organic vegetables in their yard. One of the most popular produce is, of course, lettuce. Organically grown lettuce is very nutritious and will satisfactorily complete any sandwich or bowl of salad. Growing your own batch of natural, pesticide-free organic lettuce is very easy indeed. This article serves as a simple guide on how you can get started.

Kinds of lettuce. There are several kinds of lettuce available in the market today. The most commonly sold varieties are as follows: iceberg, romaine, butterhead and mesculin mixes. Low in calories and rich in nutrients, these green leafy vegetables support pancreatic function. They are usually grown during the cool seasons of spring and autumn, which helps a lot because you would want to avoid the extreme weather conditions of summer and winter.

Where you should plant them. If you want your lettuce to grow healthy, make sure that you expose them to enough sunlight. About 6 hours of exposure per day would be sufficient since you dont want your produce to wilt. So if theres too much sun, make sure to have a shading equipment on hand as well. Also, when planting lettuce, choose fertile, loose soil enriched with compost.

How to start the seeds. You can purchase organic lettuce seeds from your local gardening shop. Begin starting seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date. Sow the seeds on a sterile starting mix and make sure you expose the plot to enough sunlight. Keep the soil cool at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. You can start transplanting the produce outdoors once the last frost date is over. Planting transplants is quite easy; just dig holes as deep as the rootball of the lettuce and twice as wide. Ensure that the plants crown is planted at soil level and that you pack the soil around the rootball. Create a 9 to 12 inches space between the transplanted lettuces.

Caring for your lettuce. Because lettuce is made mostly of water, it also needs a fair amount of moisture to grow. To check if your produce is getting enough moisture stick your finger into the top inch of the soil around the lettuce and make sure it is damp. Never let this layer dry out. You can buy organic fertilizer from your local gardening store to fertilize the soil depending on your needs, or you can use organic mulch to keep the moisture and nutrients of the soil. Another advantage of mulching is that it helps prevent soil from splashing on your lettuce when you water, a process which may inadvertently contaminate the plants.

Plan your planting succession. Because lettuce grows very fast, it is important to plan your planting succession about 7 to 21 days apart. The interval will of course depend on how much you can consume or sell at a time.

Now you are finally ready to eat that organically-grown and naturally cultivated lettuce from your own backyard! Make sure that after doing any kind of gardening, you clean your hands properly with soap and water. Of course it would be a great idea to use only eco friendly cleaning products and non toxic cleaners because these can help you protect both your family and the environment from harmful toxins and chemical substances usually found in synthetic household cleaning solutions.

by: Gregory Bren Garcia

POST COMMENT

Why You May Want A Prenuptial Agreement The Making Of A "mompreneur" -you Can Do It! Press Brakes - Tooling Essentials Ergonomic Pens How To Relight A Pipe The Fabulous Features Of Leather What Kind Of Pillow Should You Bring To The Dorm? The Fisher Bullet Pen How To Do A Reverse Lookup On Anonymous Numbers That Annoy You Jeans-how To Find The Perfect Pair Two Ways To Help Fix Dry Mouth Which Is Faster Wi-fi Or Wired Connection Get An Accurate Window Quote For Your Window Replacement Project