In Europe, this amazing plant began to be cultivated in the 17th century; it was brought to Russia by Peter the Great. The salad belongs to the annual garden plants, to the Aster family. There are three main types of it: lettuce, cycor and endive. Most commonly used. It is known for three varieties: leafy, cabbage and romaine.

Nowadays, salad is becoming more and more popular. He is especially revered by supporters of healthy food and gourmets. You can, of course, buy it in supermarkets, or you can grow it yourself in your summer cottage. For those who choose the second option, I propose to talk in more detail about leaf lettuce, cabbage growing, varieties of this wonderful plant.

Differences of lettuce

Lettuce has a rosette of light green, green or red leaves (depending on the variety).
At the head of cabbage - the leaves are wrapped, forming a head of cabbage up to 12 cm in diameter (sometimes more).
Romaine forms a raised rosette of succulent leaves, and in its middle there is a head of cabbage in the form of an elongated cone (weighing about 300g).

The benefits of salad

Any of the varieties of this vegetable plant contains a large amount of useful substances: vitamins (C, groups B, P, PP, E, K, A), minerals (calcium, potassium, iron, iodine, copper, etc.), fiber. The alkaloid lactucine gives the leaves a bitter taste. Regular consumption of lettuce helps to improve blood composition, regulate metabolism in the body, and helps to lose extra pounds. It is also useful for patients with diseases of gastritis and diabetes. It is used to prevent constipation. Lettuce leaves have a beneficial effect on the nervous system, have a calming effect, and therefore they are recommended for insomnia. To increase lactation, nursing mothers are advised to infusion from the seeds of this plant. The juice of the leaves strengthens the hair.

Favorable factors for growing lettuce

This vegetable is not afraid of low temperatures. Its seeds germinate in five to six days at 5C. Young seedlings can withstand frosts down to -20C. Therefore, this culture is sown in the ground in early spring. Sometimes podzimny sowing is used. At 20C or more, early varieties develop flower stalks ahead of time. High temperatures and low humidity in the soil and air increase the bitterness in the leaves. Head lettuce will speed up the formation of heads of cabbage if night temperatures are 40-80 lower than daytime ones.

Another feature of this plant is its love of light. With a lack of lighting, the plant will stretch out, and the head of cabbage will be too loose. In addition, in this case, nitrates accumulate in the leaves.

The salad needs a lot of moisture, because its leaf mass is large, and the root system is rather weak.

This crop prefers loose or medium-heavy soil, well fertilized. Head varieties are more demanding on mineral nutrition (especially two weeks before head formation). Plants thrive on neutral or slightly acidic soil. To grow on the latter, liming is required.

Greenhouses and greenhouses must be well ventilated, otherwise excess moisture and heat will lead to the development of gray and white rot, downy mildew, or edge burn.

Varieties of varieties

Lettuce varieties are distinguished by early maturity. When planting, it should be borne in mind that early ripening varieties will be ready for harvesting 30 or 45 days after the first shoots appear. Late varieties of plants guarantee a harvest in 80 - 100 days.

Of the early ripening varieties, the leafy "Moscow Greenhouse" is popular (the growing season is from 40 to 60 days).

"Critset" is early maturing, its ripening lasts from 40 to 45 days. Resistant to heat and shooting. The leaves are thin. The mass of the bush is 250g.

"Ballet" - suitable for open and closed ground. The leaves are green and crunchy with scalloped edges. It grows up to 600g.

"Robin" is a variety for open cultivation. Shooting resistant. Violet cherry leaves.

"Emerald" - mid-season. Has excellent taste. Shooting resistant. Gains weight up to 60g.

The mid-ripening "Pervomaisky" and "Berlin yellow", the mid-early "Maisky", the late-ripening "Large cabbage", "Green round", "Ice Mountain" have become widespread. Of the varieties of foreign selection, the leafy "Australian", the heady "Attraction" give good yields.

It should be said that head lettuce is distinguished into varieties with crispy or regular leaves. The first group is represented by the Ice Queen, Great Lakes, Avangard varieties. They are distinguished by a more juicy and dense head of cabbage, which has a sugary taste. In the second case, the popular varieties are "Danko", "Attraction", "Berlin Yellow", "4 Seasons".

The best varieties of lettuce:
1) Batavia: Lifley, Risotto, Fanley, Funtime, Afitsion, Lancelot, Orpheus, Geyser, Boston, Dachny, Yeralash.
2): Estareth, Lollo Bionda, Eurydice, Revolution.
3) Oaky salad: Amorik, Credo, Riviera, Dubachek.

Growing lettuce

A place for planting plants is prepared in the fall. Humus must be brought in for digging. In autumn or spring, mineral fertilizers are covered, sulfuric acid ammonium, potassium salt, superphosphate are added.

Lettuce can be grown both as seedlings and sowing in open ground. The feeding area for this crop must be sufficient. Early ripening varieties are planted according to the 10x10cm scheme, mid-early ones need 15x15cm planting, late-ripening ones - 25x25cm. The seeds are embedded in the ground to a depth of 1cm to 1.5cm.

Using the seedling method, you can grow lettuce outdoors at the earliest possible date. For seedlings, seed boxes are used, filled with turf soil with humus in equal proportions.

Seeds in boxes are distributed in rows, leaving a distance of about 2 cm between them. Seedlings do not require picking, therefore, after germination, young plants are simply thinned out, leaving 2 cm gaps between them.

Seedlings are planted in the ground when the plants have 3-4 true leaves. It is better to plant head lettuce on the ground in single rows with a distance of 45 cm between them.

Caring for plants is not difficult: systematic weeding and loosening are necessary. Watering should be moderate, but the soil should not be allowed to dry out.

When rosettes of leaves or heads of cabbage are formed, and in isolated cases, stems begin to appear, you need to start a continuous harvest. Cabbage varieties are harvested selectively, only the most suitable for consumption. Harvesting is desirable in dry weather, but not on the hottest day. It is impossible to clean even after rain, because otherwise the salad will quickly rot.

Under room temperature conditions, the plucked plant does not last long (leaf lettuce - no more than a day, and head lettuce can withstand 3-4 days). For longer storage, it is recommended to use plastic bags, in which the beneficial properties of lettuce leaves are preserved for up to three to four weeks.

When growing lettuce, amateur vegetable growers need to know that this culture is a good "nitrate accumulator", which means that one should not get carried away with nitrogen fertilizers when feeding.

I really love salads! I constantly plant new species. This time I decided to try planting the "4 seasons" head salad.

What the manufacturer promises:

Double expiration bag!

Mid-season head variety for open and protected ground. The period from germination to economic shelf life is 70 days.
Head of cabbage is medium in size. The outer leaves are bronze-red, the inner ones are yellow-green. The consistency of the leaves is very delicate, oily, the taste is high.
The leaves of this variety can be eaten a month after germination, without waiting for the formation of a head of cabbage.

Agrotechnics

I planted the salad in early May by direct sowing into the ground in a sunny place, simultaneously with cabbage seeds under a temporary film cover. We got up quickly! True, at first I abandoned this bed, since there was no way to keep track of the garden at all. It is easy to weed the salad garden, as you can see that the salad is crimson green! You can plant it as a sealant for cabbage. I water every day.

The leaves are very beautiful in color! Inside they are yellow-green, and the outer leaves are bronze-green.

The leaves are soft and delicate to the touch with a peculiar texture! Growing fast. If you prepare a salad correctly, it turns out delicious.

Minuses

My relatives love to walk in the garden and be sure to pick and eat something! Thus, my man plucked a leaf, tasted it, winced and spat it out! It turned out that the salad tastes bitter! And this is the main disadvantage of the salad! If you look at a slice of lettuce, you can see a white bitter juice. It tastes bitter! If this does not scare you, then you can plant such a salad. And he also does not want to roll into a head of cabbage. Maybe it's just that the time has not come? Let's see what happens in a month.

How to cook so that the salad does not taste bitter

You just need to sprinkle the dish (salad) with a slice of lemon. It took me a good half of a lemon for three servings! Let the salad steep and soak for 15 minutes. And that's all, you can eat! Now nothing tastes bitter! And the salad is delicious!

Bon appetit, everyone!