Cut & Picked Salad: Everything to Grow

Successfully growing lettuce and lettuce: Expert tips on planting and caring for lettuce and lettuce and we will present the best varieties.

Lettuce or lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. crispa) are special variations of the garden salad. The special thing about these salads: They can be harvested again and again. In addition, they are uncomplicated and easy to care for and therefore also suitable for beginners in the garden. We'll tell you everything you need to know about growing lettuce and lettuce. In our article you will therefore find out everything you need to know about different varieties, planting, caring for, harvesting and using these types of salad.

Cut and Picked Salad: Origin and Properties

Cut and pick lettuce belong to the genus of the lettuce family (Lactuca) and thus to the composites (Asteraceae). The exact origin of the garden salads, which also include sliced ​​and plucked lettuce, has not yet been precisely clarified. It is assumed, however, that the original form of garden salads is the prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola), which is widespread as a steppe plant in southern Europe and the Middle East as well as in northern India and North Africa.

The appearance and properties of lettuce and cut lettuce are very diverse, as it is not a specific type of salad, but rather only the type of lettuce that is meant. For example, lollipop lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. crispa), Oak leaf salad (Lactus sativa var. crispa)or Batavia salad (Lactuca sativa var. capitata) and romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. longifolia) grown. These differ in appearance and growth habit. Even Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) or spinach (Spinacia oleracea) are used as pick and cut lettuce and can be found in many a salad mix. In general, lettuce and pick lettuce is an herbaceous plant that initially grows as a basal leaf rosette. We harvest and eat these rosette leaves as lettuce leaves. It starts in summer Shot of the salad and it forms an inflorescence. The flowers of the lettuce are mostly yellow, but they can also take on a purple color.

Tip: In recent years, so-called baby leaf salads ("baby leaf salads") have become increasingly popular. These are salads that produce particularly small leaves with a very delicate taste. And it is precisely these properties that cut and pick salads have.

Sliced ​​and plucked lettuce varieties

As mentioned above, many different types of lettuce can be grown as cut or pick lettuce. Usually special mixes for cut and picked salads are offered, in which several types of salad are already mixed. If you like it colorful and diverse, it's best to mix different types and shapes of salad. Lollo lettuce is characterized by its special, curled leaves, oak leaf lettuce has the special leaf shape of oak leaves and batavia lettuce comes in many different colors. This creates a beautiful, colorful picture - both in the garden bed or balcony box and on the plate. The best varieties for picking or We are now introducing you to lettuce.

Which types of lettuce are suitable as sliced ​​and plucked lettuce?

• "Australian Yellow": Makes large, leafy individual plants with light green, delicate leaves
• 'Lollo rosso': This variety produces small, very curly plants with dark red foliage; the harvest time is from mid-May to mid-September
• "Catalogna": Forms dense bushes with long, lobed, dandelion-like, delicate, crisp, light green leaves
• "Ox tongue": Makes large plants with strong green, fleshy, tender leaves with a slightly nutty taste
• "Red Velvet": This variety gives you particularly dark, red-brown leaves. It has a mild, full taste
• ˈWitte Dunselˈ: Makes smooth, light green leaves and can be grown year round

Even more about the various forms and Varieties of salad you can read about it in this article.

Buy cut lettuce and lettuce plants: guide

When buying lettuce plants, your personal preferences come first. You should pay attention to the following points when you buy lettuce plants.

What should you look out for when buying cut lettuce and lettuce plants?

• Leaf shape and color
• When to plant the different varieties
• Vital and undamaged plants
• health status
• No putrid smell (may indicate root rot)
• Preferably from organic farming

You can find cut and lettuce young plants in hardware stores, garden centers, at the weekly market and in nurseries. If you are looking for a special variety, you can also do research on the internet and order from specialized online retailers.

Grow lettuce and lettuce

The foundation stone for a rich harvest is laid when planting - also with cut and pick lettuce. We'll tell you where the ideal location for the lettuce is, when to grow it and how best to go about it.

A detailed guide to the Planting lettuce You will find here.

The perfect location for lettuce and lettuce

The great thing about pick and cut lettuce is that you don't need much space to grow it and it also thrives well in pots. But no matter whether in the garden or on the balcony - the lettuce loves a sunny to partially shaded location. Above all, the soil should be loose and well-drained. In addition, a high nutrient and humus content is recommended. If all these conditions are met, nothing stands in the way of a successful cultivation of lettuce and lettuce.

Where should you plant lettuce and lettuce?

• Sunny to partially shaded location
• Loose, well drained substrate
• High nutrient and humus content

Expert tip: Picked and cut lettuce are welcome neighbors in the bed. Since the lettuce grows rapidly, it can do well as a ground cover for slow crops such as Carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) or Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are planted. Also with spinach, Onions (Allium cepa) and Beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. conditiva) this salad harmonizes well.

When is lettuce and lettuce planted?

Cut and pick lettuce can be preferred, but due to its rapid growth and short cultivation time, this is only possible to a limited extent. If you still want to give preference to young plants, you can start doing so as early as the end of February. Sowing in the cold frame or in the heated greenhouse also begins at the end of February. If you decide to sow no-till, you can start doing it outdoors from the beginning of April. You can plant early or purchased young plants in the garden bed or in pots from the end of April.

When should you plant lettuce and lettuce?

• Move forward from the end of February or in the cold frame
• From the beginning of April cultivation outdoors
• Early plants from the end of April outdoors

Instructions: Plant lettuce and lettuce

For sowing the lettuce loosen the soil well and enrich it with compost or a fertilizer with organic long-term effects. Our Plantura is ideally suited for this Organic universal fertilizerthat creates the perfect conditions for ideal growth of your cut or picked lettuce.

If the seeds are sown directly, create planting grooves with a row spacing of 25 to 30 centimeters and a depth of 0.5 to one centimeter. Alternatively, broad field sowing can also be carried out. The seeds are only very lightly covered with soil or substrate, as they need light to germinate. Now water the seeds. At a temperature of 15 ° C, the seeds should emerge within 10 to 14 days.

Tip: If you are aiming for early sowing and fear frosty, cold nights, you can protect the seeds with a garden fleece at night.

Then the plants are separated at a distance of 15 to 20 centimeters. The planting distance can also be smaller in the pot. Purchased or grown young plants are also used at the same distance. When planting, be careful not to put the plants too deep into the ground.

How is lettuce and lettuce planted?

• Loosen the soil
• Enrich with compost or a fertilizer with organic long-term effects
• Make 0.5 - 1 cm deep seed grooves
• Row spacing: 25 - 30 cm
• Cover the seeds only lightly with soil
• Pouring on
• Optimal germination temperature: 15 ° C
• Separate after rising
• Plant spacing: 15 - 20 cm
• Do not insert young plants too deeply

Maintain lettuce and lettuce: water and fertilize properly

Pickled and cut lettuce requires a lot of water. The lettuce needs to be watered regularly, especially after the plants have sprouted and on dry and hot days.

Tip: With a layer of mulch made of grass clippings or leaves, you can protect the soil from drying out and also suppress weeds.

Snails unfortunately love salad, pick and cut salad is no exception. You should therefore regularly search the garden for snails or fight the uninvited guests. If you have carried out a basic fertilization with compost or a fertilizer with organic long-term effects before sowing or planting, your lettuce no longer needs any further fertilization. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer With an organic long-term effect, it releases the nutrients slowly and gently to the lettuce plants, thus supplying them sustainably and adequately with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

How is lettuce and lettuce cared for?

• Water regularly
• Reading or Fighting snails
• After the basic fertilization when planting, no further fertilization is necessary

Increase lettuce and lettuce

It is possible to propagate lettuce with seeds yourself, but in this case the extraction of seeds is associated with a great deal of effort and also not that easy. It is actually easier to buy new seeds every year. If you still want to try it, you have to leave some lettuce plants to bloom. Small, filigree seeds develop around 14 to 24 days after flowering. You can collect these by tapping them into a container. The seeds are dried in a cloth bag and then cleaned. When stored in a cool and dry place, the seeds remain viable for up to three years.

How is lettuce and lettuce propagated?

• Let some lettuce plants bloom
• Seeds are ripe 12-24 days after flowering
• Knock off the seeds in a container
• Dry in a cloth sack
• Clean the seeds
• Store in a cool, dry place

Harvest and store lettuce and lettuce

You can harvest your lettuce or cut lettuce for the first time just six to seven weeks after sowing. This is done differently for lettuce and lettuce. A detailed guide to the Harvesting lettuce and lettuce can be found in our special article on the subject.

Freshly harvested, both the lettuce and the lettuce should be consumed as soon as possible. It cannot be stored for a long time. Wrapped in a damp tea towel, it can be kept in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for a maximum of one day.

Ingredients and use of lettuce and lettuce

Not only tasty, but also healthy - that's what the salad is said to be. When picking or If you take a closer look at the ingredients, this is definitely true for lettuce. Although it consists of up to 93 percent water, it contains valuable fiber as well as vitamins and minerals. And of course it is extremely low in calories. 100 grams contain only 23 kilocalories. In addition, the lettuce and pick lettuce has a lot to offer in terms of good ingredients.

100 grams of lettuce contain on average:

• 18 mg of vitamin C.
• 50 µg folic acid
• 264 mg of potassium
• 68 mg calcium

Most of the time, pick and cut lettuce is consumed raw. With its different colors and structures, it spices up every salad bowl. It can be prepared well with other fresh or grilled vegetables and served with sophisticated dressings. The small leaves of the salad are also particularly suitable for decorating other dishes. But lettuce can also be used when cooked. Fresh lettuce leaves look great in many wok dishes.