rvIUTET ,1
Lettuce, a cool-weather crop can
be grown in any home garden and
is very sensitive to heat.
Lettuce will grow in any rich
soil, although the plant does not do
well in very acid soil. Have a soil
test made, and apply lime to make
the soil only slightly acid.
Plant your seeds 1/4 inch deep,
in rows 1 to 11/2feet apart. Allows
to 12 inches between plants in the
row.
You can start spring lettuce
indoors and transplant it to the
garden when the plants have four
to five leaves; you don’t have to
wait for the end of light frosts, as
lettuce is not usually harmed by a
temperature as low as 28 degrees.
In the fall, allow about 4 weeks for
growing the seed directly in the
row and thin; there is no ad
vantage m transplanting.
One-third ounce of seed will
plant a 100 foot row of lettuce. This
size row can give you about 100
well developed plants. Plant about
10 feet of row for each member of
your family, but not all at one time.
You can harvest high-quality
lettuce from one planting for a
week to 10 days if weather is mild.
Sow a few feet of row at 10 day
intervals until the crop will en
counter hot weather.
You can grow a continuous
supply of lettuce for salads in your
garden by sowing a small area
Whichway 4-H meets
COOPERSBURG - The
Whichway 4-H Club held their
monthly meeting last Monday
night at the Ehlman home.
Project awards were presented
to Kathy Ehlman, Bryan Fenoff,
Bonnie Hottle, Annette and
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 24,1982—813
Growing lettuce
every month from April to August.
Lettuce is easy to grow, especially
during the spring months.
T SaladTJowT does well in spring
and fall and summer. It’ heat
resistant and ideal for home
gardners. ‘Black Seeded Simpson’
is another popular variety. These
non-heading varieties are com
monly seeded in a row or bed and
thinned to 6 inches. The dose
planting forces the young plants
upward in a tender, succulent
growth which makes a delicious
salad. If the leaves are cut off the
outside, the plants will continue to
produce for several weeks.
Head lettuce demands a fertile,
moist soil and very cool season.
The varieties of Pennloke and
Fulton are favorites among home
gradeners. They should be started
indoors and set out as plants into
soil high in organic matter. The
butterhead types are better in the
home garden than the heading
types. Make several plantings
through the season. Buttercrunch
is an excellent and very popular
butterhead variety. Try the But
tercrunch, it’s one of the best to
grow as a small head lettuce head.
Select lettuce varieties that have
been mosaic tested. This means
that they have been checked and
found to be virtually free of seed
borne mosaic disease.
Lorame Rafter, Pam Ronca, Jeff
Stuart, and Andrew Sutton.
The club voted to donate sports
equipment to Bucks County for use
at the General Camp.
The next meeting will feature a
talent show at the Grundy House m
Quakertown.