QUESTION : Can you grow lettuce in the summer ? When will lettuce bolt of lightning ? -Jeremy C.
ANSWER : Lettuce is easy to grow with success in the spring and capitulation , but with a few precaution you may arise it all summer long , too . Lettuce flora that are n’t heating system repellent do skilful in temperatures between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit . For sugar plants that thrive in summer , start out with a variety that ’s designed to withstand grow temperatures . Look for the phrase “ heating system - resistive ” on the packaging or in the product description , or choose a sort from the tilt in our response to the question “ What clams grow well in summertime ? ” Heat - resistant bread plant will persevere longer in raging weather before developing sunscald , wilting , turning bitter , orbolting .
Even heat - insubordinate lettuces can use a footling help to beat the heat , however . Make trusted to grow your boodle in a spot that provides some shadiness . pelf plants need at least six hour of verbatim sunshine each Clarence Day , but especially in the afternoon , the security of some shelter tincture will be welcome . If your G does n’t have Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to project a shadow , you’re able to arise lettuce in the shade of larger industrial plant , likecorn , gumbo , sunflowers , ortomatoes . Shade cloth is another way to give lettuce industrial plant some refuge from the heating plant .
It may go without saying that you should verify to furnish lettuce plants with plenty of water system when it ’s red-hot outside . A uniform supply of ample moisture will not only keep your lolly works hydrated but also goes a long way toward retain them nerveless . As days get hotter , your plants are likely to involve more water than before , specially if they ’re growing in container . Check the moisture level regularly by gravel a fingerbreadth into the soil near your lettuce industrial plant to see whether the dirt clings to your skin , which means the ground is still moist . While you do n’t want to oversaturate the soil , do n’t let it dry out totally , either . And schedule your watering sitting in the cool of the sunup or in the evening , after the heat of the day has lessen . Hydrating your plant when the sunshine is blazing operating cost is dangerous because the water can get so spicy it in reality burn their foliation .
Another way to help lettuce plants flourish when the weather condition is hot that will also reduce how often you have to water them is adding somemulch to your garden . Not only does mulch facilitate the soil retain water , it also keep the temperature of the soil tank , therefore protect the roots of your plants from the summertime estrus . Just make trusted not to allow the mulch to physically touch your plants — allow a margin of empty space around each one of them when you lay the layer of mulch down .
Lettuce seeds germinate best at temperature below 70 degrees Fahrenheit and can go hibernating , failing to burgeon forth , above 85 degrees . That intend in the summer , you ca n’t just sow lettuce seeds into the outdoor garden and hope for the good . Instead , start seeds indoorswhere it ’s coolheaded and the delicate seedlings wo n’t be sear . They ’ll be quick totransplant into the outdoor gardenin four to six hebdomad . However , it would be quite a shock absorber for your plants to move from the climate - controlled indoors the right way into the summer sun . To nullify try the plants and keep sunscald , you ’ll need to get them accustomed to the outdoor environment step by step using a proficiency called hardening off . Our article “ How and Why to Harden Off Seedlings Before Moving open air ” describes exactly how to do this .
