Lactuca sativa Lettuce

Planting position: Full sun (cool areas) or semi-shade (hot areas). Ideal for frost-free regions with long, cool seasons. Spacing of 30cm between and around plants.
Requires regular watering (less during germination period). Well-draining, compost-enriched loamy soil and layers of grass clippings mulching for seedlings. Added 2:3:2 to preparing beds, at a rate of 100g.m ² and apply nitrogen liquid fertiliser two-weekly to establishing plants. Provide snails- and slugs bait to protect seedlings.
Propagate from seed and sown in situ.
Harvesting is done from 3 months after sowing by cutting the head off close to the ground.
Pests, diseases and their cures: Aphids- spray weekly with mercaptothion. Bottom rot - remove and burn infected plants and drench around remaining plants with quintozene. Slugs and snails - apply bait.

Lettuce is divided into 4 types of butterhead, cos, crisphead and loose-leaf, and is the most used salad vegetable.