How much space will my lettuce need?

[elmo61]

Hi,

This is my first ever grow and and hopefully if this goes well I will be trying more in future.
I have started by planting some seeds on sunday (rocket and "All year around" lettuce) into a half size tray.

Putting the different seeds on each side. I have a couple questions regarding what to do next. Ideally I would like to be able to have a full tray which I can pick at but I am open to putting it outside in pots/ground etc.

These where planted on sunday morning (3 days ago)
imgur: the simple image sharer

I believe (but not 100%) that the side growing the most is the rocket side.

- Do you think this is too crowded or should I try giving them more room?
- Will the "all year around" have enough space? I believe it gets pretty big. (this is the seeds i brought for all year around - Lettuce All The Year Around 500 seeds)

Thanks for the help guy & girls. Really want to make this work first time hopefully

[Bill HH]

It says on the all round lettuce packet 30cm apart, so you will need to carfully prick them out and replant in the garden or in pots when they get a bit bigger, these make full size lettuce so need that space but you can eat them at any stage. The rocket you can cut and eat it from the tray and they will keep on coming . If your intention was to cut and eat maybe a deeper tray would be better they will soon run out of room for the roots in a seed tray and it will be hard to keep them watered with so little compost.

[Tripmeup]

Much as Bill says really...
The lettuce, to be of any use to you, really will need to be pricked out and planted on when conditions allow outside...
Probably better to sow lettuce in modules if you can, so that you can lift the whole individual module contents out and transplant...Also remember too, that rather than sowing a multitude of seeds, sow fewer but more often for a succession of plants, rather than a glut at the one time..

Rocket could do with a deeper tray too probably if you want to use as CACA

[veggiechicken]

Rocket could do with a deeper tray too probably if you want to use as CACA

Hi Elmo and welcome.
Can't fault the advice you've had from Bill and Tripmeup - just wanted to say that CACA is "Cut and come again" - like the trays of growing salad plants you can buy in supermarkets. If that's the sort of thing you want to grow, try one of the packets of Mixed salad leaves - that way you get a variety of tastes rather than a glut of lettuce and rocket.
Also, remember to label your seeds next time as the space required to plant out lettuce and rocket may be different

Could you put your location on your profile please - weather conditions vary a great deal, even in the UK..............and you could be in Australia for all we know

[Bigmallly]

Could you put your location on your profile please - weather conditions vary a great deal, even in the UK..............and you could be in Australia for all we know

Noooooooooooooo...........one Aussie is enough.......
Welcome to the vine Elmo.

[rustylady]

They are way way too close together.

[elmo61]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

OK so the way I see it I will go get some modules and soil and try and move individual seedlings into each module and keep that inside.

I will probably move couple rockets into a larger pot to grow together which I can keep indoors or outside. Hopefully this way they will have about twice the depth(for the modules and 3/4x depth for the pot) for roots and will not have to compete for space.

I could probably do this for a good couple weeks before moving them outside. (mid/late March time?)

I never expected them to all pop up so fast and them all to work grow so I will probably just have to dump a lot of the seedlings and take the strongest forward.

With the CACA (thanks veggie chicken), can they be planted a lot closer together? From photos I've seen they seem to be a lot closer than if planted outside with space around each plant.

[Jeanied]

Hi there Elmo - I'm in w London too - I always plant stuff too close together because I never use a ruler when planting - you could always eat the ones in between as tiny leaves - and it has been so mild I am going to put some of mine out under a cloche/ fleece tunnel.

[Bren In Pots]

OK so the way I see it I will go get some modules and soil and try and move individual seedlings into each module and keep that inside.

Try making some newspaper pots that way you won't get root disturbance here's a link to making your own tool :-

$3 Newpaper Pot Maker | Simply Flagstaff

I made mine with some pipe we had laying around, for the 'Dome Slip Cap' I pushed a piece of wood inside the smaller of the two pieces of pipe just to seal the end. Seems to work as well and the newspaper soon bio-degrades in the soil.

[Nannysally99]

Hi there Elmo - I'm in w London too - I always plant stuff too close together because I never use a ruler when planting - you could always eat the ones in between as tiny leaves - and it has been so mild I am going to put some of mine out under a cloche/ fleece tunnel.

Hi there, we are in west London too, my lettuces last year were definitely too close together, just ate it as needed, never did get a big lettuce lol


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[Potstubsdustbins]

I grow my lettuce in troughs 6" x 6" troughs in 2 lengths 16" long and 24" long. 5 plants to the short troughs and 6 plants to the longer one. These are Lollo Rossa a CACA lettuce.

Potty

[elmo61]

Thanks for the photo Potstubsdustbins, See yours look fairly well spaced out. Is that around as big as the plants will get or will/did they grow to fill the spaces inbetween.

I like idea of these so will see what I can find on the weekend.

I tried removing one from the soil (sacrificed it!) yesterday and it seem easy enough to take out and keep some soil around it.

I think i may move few extra that i need into the troughs and let them grow a bit longer. then remove the weakest so im left with just 5-6 plants as you suggest.

This morning photo:
imgur: the simple image sharer

[Bill HH]

The all year round lettuce in the picture are too small to transplant at the moment in my opinion, give em a week or so when they have proper leaves, when you do transplant them they will most likely collapse but dont worry, the next day they will be standing up again. Best to do it in the evening or on a cloudy day so they dont dry out too quickly. As for the rocket, i would plant a new batch in a deepr container, when they get to 3 inches high or so you just cut them off as you need them and they will regrow. But in a seed tray like you have they will struggle for nutrients and water. As some one mentioned you can buy a mixed packet of lettuce seeds for CACA which make a much more exciting salad.

[elmo61]

As for the rocket, i would plant a new batch in a deepr container,

Could I not just move the rocket to a deep container or would that be a little tricky?

[Bill HH]

Could I not just move the rocket to a deep container or would that be a little tricky?

Yes you could, you have nothing to lose.