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BIGGLE GARDEN BOOK 



in the early spring, transplant the wintered lettuce 

 from coldframes to field; or sometimes outdoor 

 August-sown plants are moved to frames and forced 

 along for Thanksgiving or early winter market. Or, 

 for the later crops of head lettuce, they may sow the 

 seed in drills outdoors in early spring, and then, in- 

 stead of thinning the lettuce, transplant it to a nicely- 

 prepared field where it can be set the required dis- 

 tance apart. Market gardeners have a custom, also, 

 of transplanting a head of lettuce between each two 

 early cabbages in a field row — the lettuce is soon 

 off and then the cabbages can have all the space. 



Hotbed lettuce, in the North, is usually started 

 in February and transplanted in about four weeks 

 (see Chapter III for cultural directions). In the 

 South it may be started several weeks or months 

 earlier, according to latitude. One ounce of seed 

 should furnish about i,ooo plants ; they are moved 

 to the open ground in March or early April. The 

 faster the growth, the more crisp, tender and sweet 

 the lettuce will be. Some gardeners facilitate the 

 ''heading" process by drawing up the outer leaves 

 around the plant and securing them in place with a 

 string. (Note: Very early lettuce is often grown 

 entirely in frames or greenhouses, without trans- 

 planting outdoors.) 



Summer and fall lettuce : Most varieties of let- 

 tuce do not do well in hot weather ; therefore if you 

 want summer lettuce you should select the kind 

 called Cos — a distinct type (also known as "celery 

 lettuce," or Romaine). For fall lettuce any of the 

 spring varieties may be planted. 



Varieties : Early Curled Simpson, Black Seeded 

 Simpson, Grand Rapids, etc., are good extra-early 

 kinds of the curled or leaf variety. Tennis Ball, 



