Growing Mesclun Lettuce

Mesclun lettuce is also known as wild or baby lettuce. It is a combination of several different types of lettuce, see photo above. It originally came from the Italian and French regions. Grow mesclun lettuce for a delicious addition to any salad.

• Find a sunny spot in your garden for the mesclun lettuce. Mesclun lettuce, like all lettuce, needs at least 6 hours of sun to grow properly.
• Prepare the soil before you plant mesclun lettuce. Lettuce likes loose, loamy and rich soil without being clumped with lots of fertilizers. Try potting soil for best results. 
• Use a general all-purpose vegetable fertilizer for the mesclun lettuce. Organic fertilizers such as bat guano or fish emulsion are a good choice.
• Work in this fertilizer at least a week before you plan to sow the lettuce. Break up the soil clods with a garden trowel or fork.

• Use twine tied between to stakes on either side of the row to help line up the rows evenly.
• Place the twine just above the soil, then sow the mesclun lettuce seeds along one side of the twine. 
• Lettuce seeds need light to germinate so if you do cover them at all, cover them lightly. 
• Once you sow the mesclun seeds, you can remove the twine row marker.
• Plant mesclun lettuce at the proper time for growing any lettuce. Most lettuce grows best in the cooler seasons of spring or Autumn. 

• Cultivate the soil around the mesclun lettuce once it starts to grow. 
• Lettuce roots are shallow and very sensitive, so be careful not to cultivate to hard or deep. 
• Keep the lettuce bed clear of weeds by using mulch.

• Harvest mesclun lettuce while the leaves are still young and small. 
• The lettuce will keep producing all spring if you pick the outer leaves first. 
• Use sharp scissors or garden shears to cut the lettuce.