Cardinal Fan Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I would like to grow lettuce in a container on my deck this summer (too many deer around to plant it in the ground). So what kind taste good, what kind is easy to grow and any hints on growing lettuce in a container? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Green Ice stays nice for a long time. Try to plant it where there's some afternoon shade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Fan Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Shade? I thought lettuce needed sun. I better read up on growing lettuce. Any tips are appreciated. What about butter lettuce? What month do I plant it? Seed or plants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Lettuce likes sun but if you don't want it to bolt as soon in the hot weather then make sure it gets a teeny bit of shade in the hot afternoon. It's a little tricky to situate it in the garden so it only gets shade in the afternoon as the sun rises higher in the summer, but a pot would work very well as you can move it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Plant buttercrunch. There is no better lettuce. It also has more substance than the leafier varieties. The rule for planting lettuce is to put it in as soon as the soil can be worked. The date for inground planting depends on spring weather but in a pot you can put it out as soon as we have a half-way nice day. Lettuce will germinate at cooler soil temperatures. Lettuce that is put out in very early spring should be put in the sun. If you want successive crops in your pot replant as you use it. As the weather heats up you might try moving the pot into the shade to keep the soil temperature down but when it gets too hot for lettuce that is usually it. Our cooler nights help but temperatures over 75 degrees are not good for lettuce. I plant lettuce very thick and use the thinnings for salads. Eventually you will have it thinned enough so that buttercrunch will form loose heads. You can cut most leaf type lettuces off at the soil line and they will keep coming back until the weather gets too hot. It will then set seed or "bolt". You can probably also get a fall crop in your pots. Plant it as the weather cools. Optimum temperature for lettuce is between 60 and 75 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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