Grow Leaf Lettuce In Your Vegetable Garden & Add It In Your Diet

What Is Lettuce?

Lettuce is mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. It is an annual plant of the daisy family, Asteraceae. Leaf Lettuce has nothing but leaves in it, and it is mostly used as salad and vegetables in Indian households.

How To Grow Leaf Lettuce?

Growing lettuce is not a hard task and doesn't even require high gardening skills.

● Lettuce thrives when temperatures are between 60 to 70 degrees F.
● You can plant green leaf lettuce as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring.
● You should plant lettuce at a place where it can get full sunlight.
● In extra warm days, provide some shade to the plant.
● Sow lettuce seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep in the loose and cool soil with good drainage.
● Keep a 4 to 8 inches gap between the lettuce seedlings.
● And the rows should be 12 to 18 inches apart from each other.
● For better growth, keep the ph level to at least 6.0
● You can use lime to keep the ph level as required.
● Always keep the soil moist.
● Avoid overwatering lettuce as it can cause stunted growth and root rot.
● Leaf Lettuce requires light watering on a frequent basis and with consistency.
● Try horticulture soap, neem oil, insecticides, traps, handpicking, and organic bait to keep your lettuce safe from the pests.

Different Types of Lettuce

● Arugula
● Batavia Lettuce
● Belgian Endive
● Butter Lettuce
● Chrysanthemum Greens
● Dandelion Greens
● Curly Endive
● Little Gems Lettuce
● Lambs' Lettuce
● Mesclun
● Mizuna
● Oak Leaf Lettuce
● Purslane
● Romaine
● Speckled Radicchio
● Watercress

Health Benefits Of Adding Lettuce In Your Diet

● Lettuces contain no cholesterol and no fat unless you make a lettuce vegetable.
● Lettuce is low in calories; around 15 calories in a 100-gram serving
● Iceberg lettuce, one of the green leaf lettuce, is 96% water by weight.
● Lactucaxanthin, an anti-diabetic carotenoid, helps in regulating blood sugar.
● It is a great immunity-booster as it contains Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
● Adding leaf lettuce to your diet can also help in weight loss.

One more information about lettuce: Wild Lettuce is one of the many medicinal plants known for its pain-relieving properties.