I love all things salad , so I grow a passel of clams to keep myself in supplying . Most of the time , you get a great harvest because it ’s such an comfortable works to grow . Unfortunately , you also ladder up against some prevalent lettuce problems that may wreck your harvest time or at least cause you to throw much of it away .
Over the years , I ’ve learned many tricks of the trade to key and deal with scratch problems , which I ’d enjoy to share . If you want to maximise your lettuce crop , let ’s get begin .
Give Lettuce the Best Start
Like most plants , lettuce suffers from few problems when the conditions are correct , and the soil food are plenteous . In other words , get your lettuce started as strongly as possible , and you will hopefully have few job .
Read our detailed office ongrowing lettucefirst as that will give you a heavy head - starting signal .
Environmental Problems
Most environmental lettuce problems are easy to prevent in onward motion if you have good planting practices and know what to look for .
1. Bolting
Hands up if you ’ve never had lettuce bolt to germ . I bet there are very few of us .
When lettuce grow a large peak head ( or bolts to germ ) , it ’s usually because of heat focus . I always presume the plant knows its days are come , so something triggers it to bring forth seeds to ensure it regurgitate .
ensure you water the stain regularly around the base of the moolah . If you endure in a very gay or live region , provide shade , peculiarly in the morning and the hottest part of the afternoon .
2. Germination
seek to get started the right room with your lettuce at the commencement . Although lettuce is true when it comes to sprouting , sometimes it just does n’t work . It ’s all about the temperature . About 70 ° farad is right for germination , though seeds can germinate below that .
Above 80 ° F and your seed might not rise .
clams germination swear on the right temperature , so explore what varieties grow well in your area . Some like it hot , some like it cool off . Talk to your neighbour about what varieties they grow .
3. Leggy Lettuce
Okay , this may not be an official condition , but you know what I entail . This is when your young lettuce has a prospicient stem and very few leaves . reckon on where they are planted , this is a fixable problem .
If the moolah seedlings are still immature and in pots , they may not have sufficient light source , so they ’re reaching up to the sun . All that vigour going into the shank growth take the energy aside from the leaf . Move them to a sunnier area if you could .
If the lettuce is in the garden and is tall-growing , it ’s in all probability because the plants are getting too much sun or are too red-hot . allow them with a flake more shade in the strain of shade cloths .
If they ’re already in the shade , they probably need more sunlight . Remember not to plant them in that same spot next time of year .
4. No Heads are Forming
If you are n’t see the growth you expected on your lettuce , you may have a numeral of problems on your hands .
Lettuce Diseases
Unfortunately , moolah is one of those plants that struggles with numerous common diseases . Here are the ones you should definitely observe for .
While lettuce is susceptible to many issuance , they ’re ordinarily not life - threaten to the plant .
1. Bacterial Leaf Spot
If you incur your lettuce starts to develop browned or black speckle on the leaves and then dies off or they struggle , you probably have bacterial leaf billet .
This is triggered by bacterium in the dirt that has made its way of life into the kale by water splashing , improper planting techniques ( check that to space your plants appropriately ) , or sheer big chance . There is no cure once the works is taint , so bump off the infected leaves or the entire plant to stave off further banquet .
Try not to water from over drumhead and do n’t push lettuce in when planting .
2. Damping Off
This is a problem for many plants , but I find some years , it ’s mostly just a trouble with wampum . At first , your seedling appear sound , then they wilt and collapse . Do n’t plant your lettuce in frigid , overly moist soil . check that your soil is well - run out , and do n’t overwater .
For more tips , stop out ourguideon identifying and halt this coarse fungal disease .
3. Fusarium Wilt
Fusarium wiltis common . Although yellowing of lettuce can be many other things like insufficient nutrients in the soil or too much or too lilliputian watering , I see fusarium wilting is often the culprit .
This fungus is notoriously unmanageable to see to it on pelf once it appear , but there are a duad of things you could do .
First , cautiously polish off any infected leave so that the fungus does n’t scatter . If the bulk of the clams is infect , remove the whole affair .
Next , get rid of some of the small lettuces in between the larger 1 to allow more flow of air and to finish the plant from touching each other .
Your last alternative is to apply a food - friendly antimycotic agent , but if you ’re like me and hate sprays , that is definitely the last resort hotel , if at all .
4. Rust
This is something that can make your lettuce search very unappetising . It ’s probably the most vulgar lettuce ailment and is the biggest reason why we throw them away .
Also called russet spotting , rusting appears in dough that has been piece , but also on lettuce that is partially glean . There are many types of lettuce where you’re able to pick the leaves you require and come back another time for more .
The dough keep growing , and you keep picking , but they become less resistant to corrode as time goes on . This is because when bread is damaged , a chemical reaction containing ethene gas pedal occurs . This is why both partially harvested , and harvest lettuce gets the same rust damage .
I find the best solution is to blame your lettuce leaves for as long as there is no rust . Once it appear , transfer that special lettuce and use your others . Or harvest the integral head teacher at one clock time rather than a folio here and there .
Lettuce Pests
As much as we love kale , so do many bug and herbivore . In fact , sometimes I think they look frontwards to lettuce time of year as much as I do .
1. Birds
Birds are ordinarily a problem around ripe fruit , but there are a number of birds who target lettuce seedlings as well . If you ’ve ever see your loot seedlings pulled from the ground and they do n’t look eaten , it ’s plausibly a odd bird , but they ’ll corrode leave and seedling , as well . Use bird net if you have this issue .
2. Cabbage Looper
If there is a vegetable that this louse does n’t enjoy , I ’d screw to pick up of it . Lettuce is peculiarly attractive to the inchworm . interpret our articlehereon how to key and insure this common garden gadfly .
3.Deer
I ’m prosperous that my area has no deer ( or unlucky depending on how you look at it ) , but if you do , there is netting , landscaping method , and planting techniques to keep them away . Talk to your neighbors about how they deter cervid or check out ourguide to cervid - proofing your garden .
4. Earwigs
Earwigsseem to thrive in my area so I have to deal with them most years . If you get up one morning and determine the stems have been chewed and bitten , you likely have earwig . Sometimes they do n’t do a circle of damage , other times they do enough damage to make the seedling wither and die .
I prefer chemical - barren horticulture where I can and as luck would have it earwigs are comparatively easy to control . Take a few spare flowerpots and stuff them with scrunched - up newspapers . forget them overnight and in the forenoon , cautiously dump the newspaper in a bucket of fulsome piddle . You should see all the earwigs who have stayed in the through the night .
5.Rabbits
Rabbits find bread very appealing and once they perfect in on it , they will keep returning . Use fencing , traps , orrabbit - immune companion plantsto help deter these fuzzy intruder .
Lettuce is one of the most rough-cut plants grown in the home vegetable garden because they are so well-off to bring on . They turn rapidly and you do n’t require too many to supply your needs throughout the season .
Go team salad !
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