How to Grow Leaf Lettuce in a Greenhouse? A Detailed Guide to Cultivation Techniques

Leaf lettuce and celtuce leaves look very similar, but leaf lettuce is a leaf vegetable while celtuce is a stem vegetable, and it tastes much better than celtuce leaves. Now follow along with the editor to learn about greenhouse leaf lettuce cultivation techniques.

1. Sowing and Seedling Raising

Keep the soil in the greenhouse at a certain level of moisture, scatter the leaf lettuce seeds over it, then sprinkle a layer of farmyard manure, that is, livestock droppings, over the surface of the seeds, and finally sprinkle a layer of fine soil to cover the seeds. If the temperature is not especially high yet, you can cover with a layer of plastic film to promote sprouting. Once 80 percent have sprouted young shoots, the film must be removed in time, otherwise the seedlings will be scorched.

2. Transplanting

Generally, about five or six days after germination, transplanting can begin. The spacing between plants is usually about 20 cm, and the distance between rows is 15 cm. Transplanting at this spacing will give leaf lettuce a relatively high yield, and it also prevents some diseases caused by density..

3. Field Management

During the growth period of leaf lettuce, water and nutrients must be controlled. The growth process of leaf lettuce requires a large amount of nutrients. The usual fertilization method is to mix potassium dihydrogen phosphate or other foliar fertilizers with water and spray them on the leaves. When growing in a greenhouse, the most suitable growth temperature is 18° to 25°. The most common disease of leaf lettuce is downy mildew, and the pest most likely to appear is the leaf worm. For downy mildew, we generally use Previcur or metalaxyl mancozeb wettable powder for control.

4. Harvesting

The harvesting time must be timely. If you are growing it for your own consumption, you can harvest earlier, when the leaves are very tender. But if it is for sale, it is generally harvested when the leaf lettuce has grown 15 to 20 leaves, as the leaves are at their best at this time.

By comparison, growing leaf lettuce in a greenhouse is simpler than growing it in the open air, because the greenhouse temperature can be controlled manually. Farmers who want to grow it can give it a try.