Hey kids ready to learn about planting lettuce?

 Take a look at these steps for planting lettuce

Step one- Gather all the things you will need.
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Some of the things you will need are water, lettuce seed, shovel, hoe or rake, hand gloves and loamy soil.

 Step two-  Prepare the area
•  lettuce should be planted in sunny or partially shaded sites that are sheltered from the wind.
• Loosen up the soil with a pitchfork or broad fork
• . Remove all weeds and large stones.
• Use a rake to create a smooth, level planting surface by combing it and then tamping it gently with the head of the rake.
• If you have very poor soil, you may wish to add nutrients such as compost before planting. Till the soil with a rot tiller, a tractor tiller, or even with pigs!
• Construct a raised planting bed to provide additional topsoil.


Step three-. Prepare the soil.
• Lettuce likes moist, well-drained soil. Loamy soil will help keep the soil moist. It’s much easier to get rid of weeds before the lettuce is planted.
• Give lettuce fertile, well-drained, moist soil with plenty of rich organic matter.
• To check pH, test the soil with a purchased kit, or get a soil test through your regional officer in the Ministry of Agriculture.
• If you don’t do a soil test then  add nitrogen-rich helpers such as blood meal, cottonseed meal, or composted manure.
• Lettuce needs nitrogen to grow tender new leaves quickly, so fertilize throughout the growing season with a good vegetable food.

Step three- Plant the seeds.
• Before sowing the lettuce seeds, ensure the ground has been well dug over and is free of weeds and stones.
• Soil which has had plenty of organic matter added is good for growing lettuce. They like ground which has had manure added the previously, and really benefit from good compost in the top two inches.
• The recommend distance between rows is 12 inches.
• Carefully sprinkle the seeds along the line, trying to drop one seed approximately every 11/2 to 2 inches.
• Keep the soil moist until they germinate.
• Very gently cover the seeds with a tiny bit of soil. The seeds barely need covering at all, but check your seed packet for specific recommendations. The seedlings will usually germinate a week to 10 days.

Step four - Cover your seeds
• Using a hoe, gently cover the seeds with soil. Use the metal head of a rake or a hoe to lightly firm the soil by tamping above the planted seeds.

Step five- Water the seeds.
• If the soil is dry when you are planting the seeds, immediately water the seeds after planting. You should keep the soil moist, as moisture and heat are essential for germination

Step six- Protect your plants.
• Cover the lettuce to protect your plants from cold winds and frost.
• Use a frame (such as metal hoops) to support a cloth, then pull the cloth tightly over the frames and pin it down with fabric staples or sand bags.
• Remove the cloth when the seeds germinate and the plants are visible through the soil.

Step seven- Care for the lettuce
• Lettuce plants are generally resistant to most pests and diseases. Some of the pests that may attack lettuce are slugs and aphids. These can be controlled with insecticidal soap.
• Watering the plant lightly at regular intervals will prevent rotting, as well as burning of the leaf tips. Also make sure the plant has adequate ventilation at all times.