CHAPTER X 

 LETTUCE. CELERY 



Good "luck" with these crops means rich, moist soil, good 

 seed, and plenty of clboiv grease. Tim. 



ETTUCE is hardy, and there- 

 fore the first sowing outdoors 

 may be made just as early in 

 the spring as the ground can 

 be worked. Successional sow- 

 ings may thereafter be made 

 every two weeks, to insure a 

 constant supply for the table 

 or market. I like the rows about fifteen inches apart 

 for wheel-hoe cultivation; about two and a half feet 

 apart for horse work. Sow in drills and cover 

 about half an inch deep. Thin the plants gradually, 

 using the thinnings for table use as far as possible, 

 until the plants stand about ten inches apart (more 

 or less, according to the variety grown and the size 

 of head wanted). The best soil for early lettuce is 

 a light, loose loam, made very rich. Applications of 

 nitrate of soda or liquid manure are helpful to the 

 growing crop (see Chapter IV). One-quarter ounce 

 of seed will sow about 100 feet of drill. 



The foregoing is the easy small-garden method 

 of growing lettuce without transplanting. North- 

 ern market gardeners, however, usually prefer to 

 raise early plants in hotbeds, transplant to cold- 

 frames, and then transplant to the field. Or some- 

 times they sow the seed outdoors in September, trans- 

 plant in October to coldframes for wintering (spac- 

 ing the plants about five inches apart), and then, 



