The types of lettuce and their care

Head and romaine lettuce

The lettuce, with its soft, aromatic leaves and loose heads, comes in green and red-leaved varieties. The newer ones are even tolerant of mildew and still have a fine, nutty aroma. Romaine lettuce, on the other hand, is one of the typical summer salads, as they do not bloom on long days and develop beautiful heads. Batavia and ice lettuce also have crisp leaves and firm heads and are grown in summer for harvest in autumn. Head lettuce and romaine lettuce as well as Batavia should be preferred and planted directly in the bed as young plants.

Salad

Cut salads are among the first fresh vegetables that you can harvest in the garden year. There are many varieties that are insensitive to the cold and that do not pose any problems until the first frost can be grown in raised beds. With lettuce, lettuce and pick lettuce, there are varieties for early cultivation in spring, varieties for summer cultivation and those that are best suited for the second half of the year in autumn. You should pay attention to this when choosing the variety, because if they are sown or planted at the “wrong” time of year, premature flowering can occur - the lettuce “shoots”. Salad grows quickly and can be as quick as a few weeks after

sowing be harvested.

Pick salad

The pick salads include the red or green leafy oak leaf, lollo and Schnabel salads (these are special types with tapering leaves). They can either be harvested gradually from the outside or as a whole loose head. They are usually a bit crunchier than lettuce.

Chicory salads

Endive and radicchio are chicory salads for growing in autumn. They contain more bitter substances and therefore have their very own, typical taste. Friseé salads and sugar loaf also belong to this group.

Lamb's lettuce

Lamb's lettuce is also known as field salad, rapunzel salad or bird's lettuce. Sowing directly into the bed is possible from September / October; the seeds will not germinate if the weather is too warm. If you want to harvest in autumn, buy early young plants in late summer, which are planted in small tuffs in the bed. In winter, lamb's lettuce should covered with a fleece will.