Lettuce is a two-year-old herbaceous plant that is grown as a leafy vegetable. It does not have a sour or bitter taste, and therefore refers to fresh salads. It is a stunted plant with a height of about 20 cm, consisting of a large number of leaves closely adjacent to each other, which form a dense head. The leaves of this salad can have either a traditional green color, or yellow-green, or even red shades (depending on the variety).
In cooking, it is customary to use both stalks and lettuce leaves. It is added to salads, cold dishes or some hot dishes. Old leaves are suitable for stewing. Some varieties are grown exclusively for fragrant stems. The only drawback of this salad is that it loses most of its vitamins during heat treatment. Therefore, it is recommended to use it raw. Fresh leaves not only give food a special pleasant aroma and taste, but also become an original and useful decoration for meat and fish dishes.
Lettuce is very rich in B vitamins, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iodine, iron, folic acid, and it also has a lot of alkaloids and resins. Regular use of lettuce contributes to the revitalization of muscle fibers, regeneration of nerve tissue, has a beneficial effect on brain activity. It is recommended for patients with tuberculosis, diabetes, the elderly. Lettuce has diuretic, sedative, hypnotic properties, reduces the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood, and prevents obesity. This salad is very widely used in folk medicine to strengthen hair roots, to treat cough, increase lactation in women, with cystitis, rheumatism and salt deposition. This is a very valuable dietary plant, which is useful not only for adults but also for children.
There are three varieties of salad: romaine, head and lettuce leaf lettuce. Growing them on their own land is not difficult. Seeds can be sown already in mid-April directly into the soil. But many gardeners continue to sow lettuce throughout the summer and even before winter - until mid-November. The recommended length between the furrows is 20 cm. Up to 30 seeds can be sown per 1 square meter of land. You can also prepare lettuce seedlings in a greenhouse or at home in drawers. Seedlings grow well after diving. It is recommended to plant it in such a way that the root neck of the plant is slightly below the soil level. But do not bury the seedlings in the soil too deep, otherwise it will rot.
Caring for a growing salad is easy. It is necessary to periodically loosen the soil, moderately water and occasionally feed. It is desirable to carry out watering in the morning hours, and during the formation of a head of cabbage watering is significantly reduced and watered only on furrows. Harvesting begins when the head of cabbage becomes sufficiently dense. Its readiness is determined by pressing on the head with the back of the hand. Cut them off as they ripen, selectively. In Europe, such groups of salads as Butterhead are very common, the leaves of which have an oily texture, and Chinese lettuce, its leaves are very elongated. In Russia, 6 head and 1 leaf lettuce varieties are grown: Berlin Yellow, Moscow Greenhouse, Kucheryavets Odessa, Maysky, Ramses, Riga and Romaine variety - Paris green.
Do not confuse lettuce with a plant such as wild lettuce. This is a wild plant that is not eaten because it is considered poisonous. Wild lettuce white milk juice has the properties of opium, but in small quantities it is used in folk medicine to treat kidney diseases, muscle and rheumatic pains.