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Mid August is a good time to plant Lettuce, Endive and Mesclun.
When starting crops mid-summer choose varieties with shorter growing cycles.
Lettuce won’t take up much space in your vegetable garden like tomatoes and cucumbers, so it’s a good crop for smaller gardens. Lettuce likes to grow in cool weather. It should be planted in a sunny or partially shaded place that is sheltered from the wind. Make your rows at least 10 inches wide, with at least 20 inches between the rows. Sow seeds 3/8" to 1/2 inch in the soil. Check the seed package for recommended spacing. Water thoroughly after planting seeds. Lettuce generally requires a lot of water. Keep you plants well irrigated unless you’re getting a decent amount of rain.
Harvesting your lettuce at the correct time is important for maximizing its flavor and texture. If you let your lettuce crop sit in the garden too long, it will increase in bitterness and the leaves will become tougher. Lettuce is generally ready to harvest about 80 days after planting with seeds and about 60 days after using seedlings. If you grow head lettuce, pull the entire plant from the soil. With leaf lettuce, simply remove the outer leaves allow the center leaves to continue to grow.
Like lettuce, Endive is a cool season crop. It is
loose leafed, with a slight bunching of blanched leaves in the center of the
plant. Endive has a slightly bitter, buttery taste. It is very popular,
and attractive in salads. Its growth must be rather fast to enable it to form
tender leaves. On poor, dry, exposed soil its growth will be slowed so that its
leaves, if they form in quantity, will be tough and unnecessarily pungent. When
planting in rows, spread the seeds as thinly as possible. Cover the seeds with a
very fine layer of loose soil or starting mixture. Water lightly, and keep soil
moist. Thin plants to 6" apart, in
rows 18" apart. To harvest, cut the plant off at soil level.
You can harvest leaves as soon as it is big enough to use.
Mesclun isn't a single variety of lettuce. Rather, it's a combination of several varieties of loose leaf lettuces, all in one seed packet. Lettuce contained in a Mesclun mix, likes cool weather and lots of moisture, in rich, well drained soil. Seeds are very fine. When planting in rows, spread the seeds as thinly as possible. Cover the seeds with a very fine layer of loose soil or starting mixture. The key to growing Mesclun, is to provide plenty of moisture and fertilizer. Liquid fertilizer works well. Harvest Mesclun as soon as it is big enough to use. The lettuce will keep producing if you pick the outer leaves first. Use sharp scissors or garden shears to cut the lettuce. Avoid pulling the lettuce leaves off because this may uproot the plant.
Always follow the directions on seed packets or plant tags for your specific plant variety. For more information on summer planting click here.