Salad refers to annual
vegetable plants. It has a large number of healing properties, contains vitamins B, A, PP, C, trace elements such as molybdenum, iodine, manganese, copper, boron, iron. In most parts of the country, vegetables can be grown throughout the year: in summer, autumn and spring in open ground, and in winter in sheltered. The undoubted advantage of the plant is that it is one of the first to give its vitamin greens and at the same time feels great both in the garden and in the pot on the windowsill.
Culture characteristic
Salad, the cultivation of which does not require much effort, is a cold-resistant crop. The optimal temperature for the growing season is a range of 16 to 18 degrees. At higher temperatures and dry climates, all the strength of a plant can go into color. The most widespread are leaf and head salads. Their leaves can be whole or dissected, serrated or smooth, head of cabbage rounded or rounded flat. Salad, the cultivation of which in the soil does not require special preparation, ripens within 25-40 days after the first shoots.
The soil for the salad. Outdoor cultivation.
Salad grows best in places where potatoes and cabbage were planted last year, especially if organic fertilizers were added to the soil. Salad, the cultivation of which does not require special preparation of the soil, nevertheless does not accept brackish, clay soils. However, in general, the plant is unpretentious. The increased content of humus and mineral fertilizers in the soil will only improve germination.
Salad. Seed cultivation
Lettuce seeds are sown very early - in late April - early May. Such early varieties include Salad Zabava, Jumble, Credo, Dubrava. Sowing must be carried out in an ordinary way. Between the rows, maintain intervals of 20 centimeters, between the seeds - one and a half centimeters. Germination of seeds occurs already at a temperature of +2 degrees, the most active growth at a temperature of +20 - +22 degrees. Harvest in the open field can be obtained in the period from June to September, when using the film - in the month of May. Salads, the cultivation of which requires a large amount of light, are plants of a long day. During the growing season it is extremely important to provide the plant with the necessary amount of moisture. If humidification is not enough, then lettuce leaves will coarsen, and the vegetable itself will lose most of its beneficial properties.
Salad dressing
Harvesting is carried out in 30 - 40 days from the date of emergence of seedlings. Partially, you can collect leaves and thinning plants. A head of lettuce is characterized by a longer ripening period - up to 70 days.
Growing seedlings
To grow lettuce from seedlings, use a cassette or pot, as seedlings do not tolerate damage to the root system. A peat pellet tablet with a seedling should be planted small enough so that it rises by a centimeter above the main soil, because when planted deeper, the lower leaves can rot or become infected with a fungus. The most appropriate method is for growing headed lettuce varieties.