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Vegetable Gardening

Thinning lettuce seedlings

9 years ago

I'm trying lettuce plants again. Haven't done that in a long time, but now that I have tall raised beds, I'm giving it another go. I forget what all I planted (never seem to remember to write them down!) but there are tons of seedlings popping up. Do I think them to just 1 every few inches, or can I let them grow in small groups? I believe these are loose-leafed lettuces.

Thanks.

Featured Answer

LoneJack Zn 6a, KC

9 years ago

With loose leaf lettuce I would thin to about 1" spacing when they get a couple inches tall and use the thinnings in a salad.

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Comments (7)

digdirt2
9 years ago
Agree. Loose leaf lettuces can be grown in clumps or with minimal spacing. They work well in containers too with just a lightly 'blanket' seeding pattern. Head lettuce varieties need 10-12 inch spacing to form heads.

Dave
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Yes, that was my initial thought as well. My problem is that I am torn;) It first appeared right along with the lettuce seedlings in the row, but now, as you can see below it has started coming up next to my brand new baby beets. These are about 4 or 5 feet from my lettuce rows, but in the same bed. I have 3 other beds that have been planted, and I haven't seen this in any of those. I am sure you are right, just hard to pull:) I am a wimp, I even hate thinning my lettuce seedlings. Which by the way, I am not sure how far to space them. Any thoughts?? gabby Here is a link that might be useful: baby beet and the unknown
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Soooo... about a week ago I planted mesclun mix seeds in my outside garden and voila! there are a ton of seedlings, the question is, do I thin them all out? Or do I do nothing and let the lettuce grow? I dont' know what kind is what as seedlings there are small differences and all but basically I don't want my lettuce to suffer, I want it to flourish and have some from every different kind. will they just be fine? Let me know!
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For production value of having a quality head of lettuce I suggest having one plant per cell and have a minimum spacing of six inches between cells or lettuce plants. Having more than one plant in the same space causes a battle among the roots for nutrients and the shoots or leaves begin to search for light and air causing strange growth patterns. Having more that one plant in a cell is possible but can look unorganized and does not provide quality plant structure and growth time length.
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Hi Dave, I don't have a photo right now. It's a bit dark, as it's early morning here in Atlanta. The varieties that I'm noticing this with are Matt's Wild Cherry and Yellow Pear. The other tomatoes (Cherokee Purple, Eva Purple Ball, & Green Zebra) don't seem much better. They all have the thin leaf issue going on to some extent... I have sprouted seeds before in organic soil mix I bought at the store and had no issues in the past. I guess I should have stuck with what worked for me. In any case, I'm hoping these thin leafed plants might be able to get better in the ground where there are nutrients. I have this funny feeling though that they might be stunted somehow-pretty mad at myself for not being practical and fixing what was not broken. Thank you for your quick response, Dave. Stella
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catherinet
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks LoneJack and digdirt. How about buttercrunch types?
0
LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Buttercrunch needs at least 8" and then will still grow together somewhat but if you harvest the outer leaves as they grow you can keep them in control. For large Romaine types like Jericho and Batavia types like Nevada I use 12" spacing and for mini Romaine types like Little Gem I use 9" spacing.
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digdirt2
9 years ago
Buttercrunch is a head lettuce variety, not a leaf lettuce variety. Like I said above all heading varieties need 10-12 inches. Jack's 8" will work with extra care as he said but you won't get as large a head.
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catherinet
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks again!
0
elisa_z5
9 years ago
I grow butter crunch in that "blanket" seed pattern, because I like to do that with all my lettuces and I like the taste of butter crunch. So I use the method Lone Jack suggested at first, of thinning with scissors when it's big enough to eat.
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