Moon Phase Planting of Lettuce

Lettuce should be planted when the moon is in the 1st Quarter (i.e. waxing) and in one of the following Zodiac Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces, Libra, Taurus

Planting and Culture

Almost any fairly good garden soil that is well drained and not excessively acid is suitable for lettuce. The only real secret about growing fine plants is to keep them uncrowded and growing rapidly. Rapid growth demands an abundance of moisture plus an abundance of natural plant nutrients. Mature compost humus or well-rotted manure should be dug in along the row before the seed is sown. In transplanting, a generous amount of organic humus should be worked into the hole before the plant is set out.

Wild lettuce prefers a temperate climate and its cultivated descendants naturally thrive best during cool weather, although some loose-leafed strains are valued for their ability to grow during summer heat.

Heading lettuce may be planted to head-up either during the early summer or the fall. For the early crop the seed should be sown about 1/4 inch deep in flats or similar containers and placed in a sunny window or a cold frame about the beginning of March. The young plants should be ready to set out early in April. In the flats, the seed should be thinly sown and the seedlings thinned just as soon as the leaves touch. Probably no fault is more universal than sowing lettuce seed too thickly.

For the spring crop, start seed indoors in flats or pots in a sunny, cool (50 to 60°F. [10 to 15.56'C.]) location. Or, sow seed outside in a hotbed or cold frame, about four to six weeks before the last severe frost. One seed packet will sow a 100-foot row. For a good potting mixture, sift together one part sand, one part good loam and one part compost. Keep moist and, when the seedlings have at least their first set of true leaves, transplant to plant bands or flats. Gradually harden off the plants by setting them outdoors during the sunny part of the day.

Transplanting

Setting the transplants out very early is essential. In fact, some gardeners make a practice of sowing their lettuce seed in the fall in a carefully prepared area. The seedlings become fairly large before severe frost. As cold weather approaches, the seedlings are covered with a gradually deepened layer of loose straw, leaves, twigs, or other materials. Under this, the small plants survive the winter easily and the gardener has a heavy supply of sturdy, very early seedlings upon which to draw.

In setting out the transplants, put them about 15 inches apart in the row in rows about two feet apart. When seed is sown directly into the garden, the seedlings should be ruthlessly thinned to stand at least a foot apart to prevent overcrowding.

Care

In the early stages of growth the plant has a cluster of shallow feeding rootlets. This condition makes it ideal for transplanting but, while small, makes it an easy victim of weeds. A light mulching of compost sifted around the plants will do much to keep down weedy growth and later will supply easily available plant nutrients.

Lettuce plants will not do their best unless they have a very liberal supply of moisture. Normally the supply of rainwater is insufficient and unreliable. It will aid your plants to continue rapid growth during dry weather if you water them with rainwater which has filtered through a container holding a quantity of fertile compost.

It may be that for one of many reasons your plants do not reach the heading stage before the arrival of hot weather. Many gardeners have had this experience. ' The most popular solution to the problem consists in covering the plants so as to give them partial shade. A few stakes driven into the ground along the sides of the rows may be used to support a length of cheesecloth stretched upon them.

A slightly heavier framework may be made to support a thin layer of brush, or a slat roof in which the slats are alternated with spaces about equal to the width of the slats. Any such arrangement which excludes excessive sunlight will usually produce the coolness necessary to the plants if they are to form satisfactory heads. Some gardeners make good use of a partially shaded spot in the garden as a favored site for lettuce.

Diseases and Pests

Lettuce rot, which first affects the lowest leaves in contact with the soil and then spreads through the plant, can be avoided by spreading clean sand over the surface of the soil. Fungus and bacterial diseases are best avoided by rotating the crop. Do not plant lettuce in the same rows two years in succession and do not plant where endive, chicory or dandelion have just grown. These are all subject to the same diseases.

Insects which cause the greatest damage in new lettuce plantings are cutworms and slugs. Cutworms may be outwitted if loose collars of stiff paper are put on the seedlings when they are planted. The collars are made about one to 1 1/2 inches in diameter and are wide enough so that when 1/2 inch is buried in the soil an inch or more remains as a barricade above ground.

If slugs are a problem, limestone or wood ashes may be sprinkled over the soil around the plants to discourage them. In a wet season when slugs are very bad, do not use small baskets or boxes to cover newly planted seedlings. These only act as shelters during the hot part of the day and slugs may sometimes be found by the dozens inside inverted berry boxes. Instead, shade seedlings with a canopy held a foot or more above the bed.

Harvesting

Pick lettuce in the early morning hours to preserve the crispness it acquired during the cool of the night. Immediately after being picked, it should be washed thoroughly but as briefly as possible and dried immediately to prevent loss of vitamins. If stored in a closed container in the refrigerator, it will retain its crispness for days.

Loose-leaf types should be cut off at ground level and the roots left in the soil. Later in the season the roots will send up new leaves for a second crop.

By: Gene DeFazzio
moonGROW.com http://www.moonGROW.com is a website delving into Moon Phase and Zodiac Sign Organic gardening. By Gene DeFazzio, this site provides the basics of both astrological and organic growing for the home gardener.

Planting and starting a vegetable garden is exciting, especially when your hard work and labour are rewarded with mouth watering results. It is as essential to design and plan the space for the vegetable garden as it is for your front lawn. You could construct the vegetable garden in a sunny spot at one end of your lot in clear view of your driveway or have it accessed from the patio through an elaborate pathway so that it immediately catches the eye. Understanding the basics of vegetable gardening can help immensely in creating a verdant and healthy environment.

Some vegetable gardening tips on how to start a vegetable garden
It is important to first determine how large an area you have to build your vegetable garden. You can then decide what vegetables you would like to grow. A properly planned layout of your vegetable garden with good planting techniques will produce more from less space, using less water.

Cordoning off the vegetable garden with a picket fence, trellis or a low wall can look ornamental as well as decorative. Flowering vines and creepers can drape these and make your vegetable garden look grander. While flowering plants and trees add colour and beauty around the corners, they also serve to be an effective backdrop for plants like zucchini, pumpkin, okra, artichoke, tomatoes and herb boxes.

In vegetable gardening cucumbers, melons, peppers and lettuce also turn out to be good investments when planted young. If you are going to plant seeds in your vegetable garden, the most commonly used are corn, beets, radishes, parsnips, squash, potatoes, beans, peas, flowers, pumpkins, carrots, sunflowers, chard, and onions.

Soil for planting vegetables should be moist, well-draining and free of big pebbles. With an ideal pH balance of 6.5, the soil must be enriched with compost, organic manure or peat. The subsoil should not be too sandy, clayey or hard. You may need to add sulfur or lime to adjust the pH if it is not in the correct amount.

There are a few vegetable gardening basics that must be adhered to especially while starting your first vegetable garden. When transplanting, seedlings have to be thinned to ensure healthy growth of strong plants. Row planting of seedlings is ideal for most vegetables. While some vegetables like sweet corn can be planted in square or rectangular spaces, leafy vegetables are better sown in drills and then replanted. Ensure that you sow the seeds keeping in mind the correct depths and spacing requirements. While liquid fertilizers are essential during growth, mulching the site will help contain weeds. Adequate pest control measures against the flea beetle, flies, aphids, caterpillars and fungus pests should be taken to keep your vegetable garden looking fresh and healthy. Water everything thoroughly and keep the seed areas moist until they germinate and start growing. Rotation of crops is recommended every three years, if the same site is used over and over again to grow vegetables.

By: William Brister
William Brister - http://www.beautifulgardens.tv - Essential Gardening Tips

If you've dreamed of having healthier, readily available fresh foods for your family to eat whenever they'd like, you may have started wondering how to plant a vegetable garden. Planting your very own vegetable garden allows you to control whether harmful chemicals are used on the foods you eat, allows you to have fresh vegetables for cooking or eating raw during harvesting season, and saves you money both in the summer and winter, because you can freeze or can the vegetables you grow and use them throughout the year.

Planting a vegetable garden is not difficult either, but there are a few steps involved. First you have to plan the location of your vegetable garden, then you need to prepare the soil for your vegetable garden, then you will plant your seeds or starter plants. From then on, it's just a matter of caring for your vegetable plants and keeping the weeds away. And before very long you will find yourself outside picking fresh vegetables right off the vine.

Planning your Vegetable Garden

The first thing you'll need to learn about how to plant a vegetable garden, is that location is very important. Vegetables need five to six hours a day of full sunlight, so where you place your vegetable garden plays an important role in how successful that garden will be.

You will also need to plan your space wisely. Depending upon how many vegetables you want to plant, and how much of each vegetable you'd like to be able to harvest, you might find you need quite a bit of room for your vegetable garden. A family of four for instance, generally needs rows of vegetables approximately ten feet long to provide enough harvest for the entire family. So if you want to plant twenty different vegetables, you will need a lot of space.

Vegetable gardens can be planted in containers however, so this might be an alternative option for you to consider. Many vegetables can grow in one container too. Your best bet for the first time planting a vegetable garden is to start small. Choose maybe five vegetables to plant for instance, or try planting smaller amounts of many different vegetables.

Preparing your Soil

The next step you will need to learn about how to plant a vegetable garden, is that soil preparation is very important. There's a lot to learn in this area, so we won't cover it in detail here. But the basic steps involved with preparing your vegetable garden soil involve turning the soil, and enriching it with compost or other organic matter.

Vegetables need a lot of nutrition to grow well, so the better you prepare the soil before planting, the better chances you have of producing a bountiful crop.

Planting Your Vegetables

The third step in learning how to plant a vegetable garden is the fun part. You will plant your vegetable garden seeds or starter plants in the newly prepared garden soil.

Now, if you're planting your vegetables in traditional rows, you'll simply sprinkle seeds along the top of a row, then cover then lightly with a thin layer of soil. If you're using starter seedling plants for your vegetable garden, you will make a slight hole in the top of the row, put your starter plant down in the hole, then pack the mounded soil around it lightly.

Planting vegetables into raised garden beds is done the same way when you're using rows. If you decide you'd like to plant your vegetables in square blocks however, that's easily done in the same ways too. Alternatively, you can randomly place your vegetable plants and seeds, and you will get a more natural growth look from your vegetable garden when the sprouts begin to create leaves and produce.

By: Diane Crawford
For more great info on How to Plant a Vegetable Garden, please visit http://www.gardenbot.com/vegetable-garden.html.

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Vegetable gardening is really easy if you know what to do. Below are some excellent tips on what needs to be done to get those tomatoes, chili plants and others to look healthy and best of all good natural eating.

Choose a good location. Preferably a west location as this side will have plenty of sun. Most vegetables like lots of sunlight. Especially green chile peppers, japapenos and other southwestern chile.

Vegetables and Chile plants love the long southwestern sunshine which is ideal for productive and abundant crop.

Rototill the land or at least dig up the soil with a shovel to loosen the dirt/soil.

Clear the spot or location of any large rocks, grass or weeds that may be in the area.

Chose a good vegetable fertilizer and apply it over the soil.

Chile peppers and vegetables do NOT like cooler temperatures. Plant them when temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees fahrenheit during the night.

A good fertilizer will have the following nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) are the three nutrients of concern to most gardeners. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are also needed. A good fertilizer will have a 5-10-5 mixture. Apply about 2 tablespoons per 50 sq ft.

Consider growing vegetables and chile seeds that are suitable for your area. Call your local Nursery for information on what will grow well in your area. Many nurseries have vegetables and chile already planted as seedlings. These type of plants will do better for the novice gardener since they are already set to plant and grow!

Remember its YOUR garden decide if you want vegetables seeds or grown container plants?

Water is essential to your vegetable garden. Use a good Drip System or water by hose on a daily basis especially in the desert southwest. About 1.5" of water per week should do.

Vegetables like low acid PH levels in the soil. You can always amend the soil with nutrients at a later date.

Weeds will suck up all the nutrients and water from the soil. So remember to pull out all weeds whenever possible. Avoid using herbacides or weed killers. Unless you plan to have a commercial type vegetable garden.

Don't over water or have standing water over a long period of time. This may promote fungus or diseases. Over watering is just as bad as little or no water!

Try to buy tomato and chile seeds or plants that are resistant to "VFN". What is "VFN"? Following is what this means: V=Verticillium F=Fusarium, and N=nematodes. These are fungii that causes plants to wilt.

Most vegetable plant seedlings will have a label with the "VFN" information on them.

Start getting ready for your vegetable garden today. Visit your local nurseries and ask questions? Most retail nurseries have very knowledgble employees. It really is much easier than you think.

By: Paul Guzman
Paul Guzman is general manager of Guzman's Greenhouse located in Las Cruces, NM. He is also the webmaster of http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com. Sign up for his free gardening newsletter at: guzmansgreenhouse.com/newsletter.htm

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