How many lettuce seeds in a pound

Bolting ends the possibility of harvest. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Home Yard and garden Find plants Vegetables Growing lettuce, endive and radicchio.

Quick facts Choose varieties adapted to cold climates and that have a short growth cycle. Start seeds indoors in early April for transplanting in late April and early May. Fertilize soil for quick growth and keep the soil moist. Direct seed as soon as the soil is workable in April. Start seeds indoors in July for transplanting in August for a late season crop. Harvest leaves frequently for fresh salads. Use row covers or low tunnels to protect seedlings and plants from freezing temperatures.

Before planting Proper soil preparation is important for success with these salad crops. Open all Close all. Soil testing and fertilizer Have your soil tested. The best pH range for lettuce and chicories is between 6. Apply phosphorus P and potassium K according to soil test recommendations.

Many Minnesota soils have enough phosphorus. Unless your soil test report specifically recommends additional phosphorus, use a low- or no-phosphorus fertilizer. Improve your soil by adding well-rotted manure or compost in spring or fall. Do not use fresh manure as it may contain harmful bacteria and may increase weed problems. The soil should be well drained and moisture retentive. Till the soil deeply, and then smooth the surface.

Use a complete fertilizer such as a , at the rate of two pounds per square feet. When the plants are about four inches tall, apply a side-dressing of the same fertilizer at a rate of one pound for each 25 feet of row. Do not use any fertilizer containing a weed killer "Weed and Feed" , as it may kill your vegetable plants. Selecting plants. Lettuce types Non-heading: loose-leaf, including oakleaf and lolla Soft heads: butterhead and bibb Ruffled heads: French crisp, summer crisp, or Batavia Tall, compact heads: cos or romaine Dense, solid head: crisphead or iceberg Loose-leaf varieties are easiest to grow.

Chicories: endive, escarole, radicchio and Italian dandelion Chicories are close relatives of lettuce, and you can grow them in similar ways. Endive is a versatile salad and cooking green. No lettuce is washed before it gets to the store, but some may be hydrocooled or hydro-vacuum cooled.

Cut lettuce, which is found in grocery stores in plastic bags "ready to eat," is harvested in a different fashion. Crews hand cut and core the lettuce and place it in bulk containers which are transported to a processing facility.

There it is cut and washed in suitably cold water. It is then bagged in special plastic films that maintain, internally, a certain ratio of atmospheric gases N2, O2 and CO2 that is different from ambient lower in O2 and higher in CO2. The bags are then placed in cartons for temporary cold storage or for immediate shipment to market. Specialty leaf lettuces and other greens for bag mixes have usually been hand harvested, but harvesters for this purpose are now available.

Lettuce and other leafy items must be kept clean, and free of soil and mud. A stronger bitter taste and toughness develops if harvest is delayed or if crop is over- mature, and then the product becomes unmarketable.

Lettuce is extremely perishable and needs to be handled delicately, and marketed rapidly. Head lettuce is harvested when the heads are of good size about 2 lbs , well formed and solid. If the plants are wet with rain or dew the leaves are more brittle and break more easily. Leave three undamaged wrapper leaves on each head. Put 24 heads in rigid cardboard containers in the field and avoid bruising.

Grade heads according to size, pack in cartons vacuum cooling is mandatory for long shipments. Leaf, butterhead and cos types are cut, trimmed and tied into compact bundles before placing in cartons.

Precooling is commonly done by vacuum cooling because it is more effective and rapid that hydrocooling. Also, since most head lettuce is field packed in corrugated cartons, vacuum cooling is more suitable.

For vacuum cooling, containers and film wraps should be perforated or readily permeable to water vapor. To aid vacuum cooling, clean water is sprinkled on the heads of lettuce prior to carton closure if they are dry and warmer than 75 F. Thorough precooling is essential because mechanically refrigerated rail cars or trucks do not have enough cooling capacity to cool warm lettuce during transit. Lettuce is highly perishable and deteriorates rapidly with increasing temperature.

The respiration rate increases greatly storage life decreases concomitantly as the storage temperature increases over the temperature range from 32 to 75 F. Leaf lettuce respires at about twice the rate of head lettuce. At 32 F, head lettuce can be held in good condition for 2 to 3 weeks, the time period depending on maturity, quality, and handling condition of the lettuce at harvest. The storage life at 38 F is only about half at that at 32 F. Lettuce is easily damaged by freezing, so all parts of the storage room must be kept above the highest freezing point of lettuce All heads in a crate should be of similar size and weight.

Whole plants of leaf lettuce are often put in a plastic sleeve and sold 24 to 36 per fiber-board carton. Butterhead types are also sleeved or can be packed like head lettuce with 24 heads to a smaller sized carton. Unless the crop is to be sold locally, the lettuce must be cooled before shipment.

Vacuum cooling is the primary method for cooling in the major lettuce growing areas. The most practical method for North Carolina is to stack the cartons in a cold room with high humidity and force cold air through the stack with high-velocity fans.

A good head yield for lettuce is about to crates per acre and leaf types to 1, crates per acre. Publication date: Jan. Cooperative Extension prohibits discrimination and harassment regardless of age, color, disability, family and marital status, gender identity, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex including pregnancy , sexual orientation and veteran status.

Receive Email Notifications for New Publications. NC State Extension Publications. Related Publications. Browse Horticulture Information Leaflets. Lettuce Horticulture Information Leaflets. Introduction Skip to Introduction. Varieties Skip to Varieties. Soils and Fertilizers Skip to Soils and Fertilizers. Spacing Skip to Spacing. Planting the Crop Skip to Planting the Crop. When to Plant Skip to When to Plant. Growing Plants Skip to Growing Plants.

Irrigation Skip to Irrigation. Cultivation Skip to Cultivation. Insects and Diseases Skip to Insects and Diseases.

Harvesting and Packaging Skip to Harvesting and Packaging. Cooling and Shipping Skip to Cooling and Shipping. Yields Skip to Yields. This publication printed on: Nov. This would yield about lbs. This would yield about Each seed packet has information about planting times, proper planting depth, spacing between seeds and days to maturity. Pay attention to these details for each seed you plant. Louisiana State University College of Agriculture shares expected vegetable garden yields based on the amount of seeds planted.

The list also includes expected yields for some berries and melons. These estimates are good for gardeners living in the Deep South, but gardeners in other regions may not experience the same yields. Harvest to Table offers advice for how much to plant, depending on the number of individuals in your family. Here are a few popular home garden vegetables and the number of plants to grow per person:. Up-to-date agriculture news in your inbox!