How to sow lamb's lettuce in the vegetable garden?

Very easy to grow, lamb's lettuce is a salad that finds its place on many menus. It requires very little space to grow and is easy to sow in your vegetable garden. However, to ensure good growth and a fruitful harvest, there are a number of conditions that need to be met. We'll give you all the details here.

When to sow lamb's lettuce

When it comes to sowing lamb's lettuce in your vegetable garden, you can choose between two groups of varieties: early lamb's lettuce (growth takes place towards the end of summer) and hardy lamb's lettuce (its development withstands the winter frost). But whichever variety you choose, you need to pay attention to the conditions that are right for growing it. Remember that lamb's lettuce prefers soil that is moist, cool, healthy, clayey and leaded on the surface. It also grows well in light soil and in the shade. On the other hand, lamb's lettuce does not tolerate excess heat and humidity. However, in the early stages of its growth, it can still endure extreme cold.

As for when to grow lamb's lettuce, you can start sowing it between the end of July and the end of August, and harvest around 60 days later. You can also do a second wave of cultivation in September and October, and harvest 3 to 5 months later, from winter onwards. If you wish, you can collect your own seeds from a few plants sown in September for a new growing season. Just leave it to flower and once little plumes appear, that's when they're ready to harvest.

How to sow lamb's lettuce correctly

To sow lamb's lettuce, you have two options: sow it in trays or sow it directly in situ. Personally, I only choose the second option, which is perfectly suited to this type of crop. Don't forget: you need to prepare the soil well before sowing. The soil must be loosened and compacted on the surface. But there's no need to plough the growing area. It's quite enough to aerate the soil with a grelinette and then fine-tune it with a rake. Here's what your soil should look like before sowing.

Secondly, here are the steps to follow to sow lamb's lettuce:

• Dig furrows 20 to 25 cm apart, about 2 cm deep;
• Sow the small lamb's lettuce seeds following the lines;
• Cover the seeds with potting soil or fine earth, then plough heavily;
• Finally, water the growing area well in rain.

In addition to the technique of sowing in rows, you can also opt for broadcast sowing. But in this case, maintenance will prove more difficult as you'll have to pull out weeds one by one, which are likely to choke your young shoots.

After sowing lamb's lettuce seeds, you need to make sure you keep the soil cool and shaded. Use beds with straw, fern leaves or a burlap sack until at least emergence (about a week). You won't need to water the plants either, as the autumn and winter rains are more than enough for them to grow well. If you want to speed up their growth, you can 'force' this crop by placing a winter veil over it.