CULTIVATE LETTUCE FOR SALADS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 554, 5 January 1929, Page 24

CULTIVATE LETTUCE FOR SALADS

We all agree that a certain amount of green vegetables should be part of the daily menu. The average suburban allotment has ample ground, in the majority of cases, to be able to grow sufficient green vegetables, especially during the warm seasons. One of our most useful salads is the lettuce, if well grown. Though it is easy enough of culture, many growers fail to produce crisp and tender hearts through want of knowledge in its production or culture. We do not require much imaginary powers to judge between a well grown lettuce and one that has been neglected, or, in other words, wrongly cultivated. The best ground for the production of lettuce is a rich, sandy loam, but it is possible, with the aid of manure and water, to grow good stuff on the sandy soils. Particular care should be taken not to allow the plants to dry out at any period of their growth, or they are going to receive a check fi-orn which it will be difficult to recover. The plants should be kept growing as rapidly as possible, as in this lies the successful maturing and hearting. Nothing in the salad line should be allowed to occupy the ground too long, as the length of growing period (especially if moisture is scarce) tends toward hardness and toughness of the leaf and root. If the ground is made rich there is nothing in the vegetable line that will respond more readily to the kindly treatment. Seedlings may now be planted with a certain amount of assurance that they will not run to seed. The best position for your lettuce bed is facing north-east, or north, where the plants can get the maximum of sun. A little shelter in the summer time is beneficial, providing that it is not too dense. The ground should be thoroughly broken up and drained before planting out the young seedlings. Most all garden plants object strongly to cold, wet ground, and lettuce is no exception to the rule. THE MOST PROFITABLE KINDS TO GROW The cabbage, or large-hearting, are the best to grow, especially for marketing. The secret of producing a good quality lettuce is the amount of attention bestowed upon it during the growing season. It is next to impossible to raise tender, crisp leaves where there is a scarcity of either manure or water. Apart from their use in the raw state as a salad, lettuce may be cooked and served up in the same way as a cabbage, the flavour being equally as good and much superior in quality to some of the cabbages. One of the most popular lettuce grown is Iceberg. It is a quick grower of excellent quality. The old and tried Drumhead Cabbage Lettuce has few rivals. It is one of the solid, white, crisp-hearting varieties, grown extensively by the market gardeners.