Fresh heads of lettuce are a great addition to your garden. One tricky part of growing this vegetable is watering lettuce. Here’s how to water your lettuce this growing season.
Tips for watering lettuce
First, here are some tips for watering your lettuce plants:
- Water immediately after planting into your container or directly in the ground. It will also be good to feed the plant with some fertilizer at this time, especially if you are planting it in soil that doesn’t have very good resources already.
- Water with a gentle stream (either with low pressure on your hose or with a sprinkling can). This will ensure that the dirt won’t splash up on your plant and cover its base. This can suffocate the plant and can especially be a concern early on when the plant isn’t very big.
Does water need a lot of water?
Lettuce plants will need more water depending on the season of the year.
In the spring, when the lettuce is just starting out, make you the plant has enough water to grow into a healthy bushy lettuce plant. Depending on how much rain you are getting, the intervals of watering will vary.
A good rule of thumb is checking the soil right beneath the surface for dampness. If it’s dry under the top few inches of the surface, the plant could probably use some water.
A wilting lettuce head is also a great indication that the plant could use some hydration.
Should I water my lettuce every day?
During a really hot spell, it may be necessary to water your lettuce plant every day. This is the season when the lettuce plant is the most prone to going to seed or wilting down, so providing it with water regularly is important.
Watering lettuce: the key ingredient for growing lettuce through the summer
Lettuce is often a tough vegetable to grow during the summer, as it requires regular watering through the heat. By providing the plant with the water it needs when it needs it, your lettuce plant will be well on its way to growing into a delicious head of lettuce.