Salad - a popular culturewhich can be grown in open ground, on a loggia or on a windowsill.
But best of all use greenhouses.
Indoor heated constructions make it possible to get stable harvest all year and enrich your diet with vitamins and valuable micronutrients.
The advantages of greenhouse cultivation
Growing up in a lettuce greenhouse all year round, practically does not have flaws and difficulties. But the advantages of such a landing weight.
- green crops grow rapidly;
- very salads good for the health. They contain a large amount of water, valuable fiber, vitamins of group B, C, K, potassium and folic acid. The most useful juicy varieties of bright colors;
- the taste of lettuce grown indoors is no different from the taste of plants from the garden;
- for sale there are seeds of different varieties, from simple to exotic;
- salad can be grown in a heated greenhouse, and in the summer greenhouse;
- You can plant different varieties of lettuce for the greenhouse, combining them with other spicy herbs and vegetables;
- heated greenhouse gives you the opportunity to harvest crops year-round, including in winter;
- summer greenhouse without additional heating significantly extends the time of cultivation, allowing you to save on heating;
- the yield of lettuce in the greenhouse is higher than in the open field, the plants are protected from pests and adverse weather conditions.
Features of some green crops
Novice gardeners usually planted undemanding and fast growing leaf salad: cress, oak-leaved, frieze. But in the greenhouse you can grow more exotic crops, for example, the headed Iceberg or the popular arugula.
These cultures have some features that need to be considered. Iceberg lettuce It has a very pleasant fresh taste. Juicy pale green leaves are rich in valuable trace elements and fiber, the salad is suitable for dietary and medical nutrition. Refers to late ripening, it is formed later on leaf cultures.
For growing Iceberg lettuce in a greenhouse in winter need to provide:
- Bright lighting. With a short light bottom, the plants are drawn out, the leaves become pale and less juicy.
- Light nutrient soil. Iceberg prefers a mixture of garden soil and turf and sand and reacts poorly to too acidic soil. Complex mineral fertilizers are recommended to be added to the substrate.
- Correct temperature. For heading you need 20-25ºC during the day and not higher than 18ºC at night. The salad suffers a strong heat badly.
Cabbage lettuce can be planted as seeds and seedlings. In the latter case, growth is accelerated. Seedlings easier to grow in peat cubes and pots, where the seeds are placed without digging.
Another popular and undemanding culture is arugula. This plant with narrow saturated green faces has a pleasant, slightly bitter, refreshing taste. Arugula is used to make salads and puree soups, garnishes and decorating dishes. Greens contain valuable fiber and is ideal for diet food.
Arugula is undemanding, for growing arugula in a greenhouse in winter, it is necessary to provide:
- good watering and bright lighting;
- loose nutritious soil;
- timely mineral supplements;
- temperature from 18ºC to 20ºC.
How to grow rocket in the greenhouse? Plants are sown in spring, first shoots appear a week later. After 2-3 weeks, you can begin cutting. Leaves of arugula should not outgrow, they quickly become rough and tough.
Soil and landing guidelines
How to grow lettuce in a greenhouse? Leaf or cabbage lettuce better planted in light soil mixed with peat and sand. The soil must be thoroughly cleaned of weeds, for disinfection it can be pre-shed with an aqueous solution of copper sulphate.
Organic fertilizer is not worth making, but light mineral supplements are recommended after each harvest.
When planting seeds may thickening of planting, followed by thinning. Experts recommend the use of seeds in the shell, their germination is much higher than in normal. Sow the salad in rows with a distance of 40 cm, bury the seeds is not worth it. The first sowing is carried out in early spring.
Plant care
The technology of growing lettuce in the greenhouse in winter is as follows:
In a greenhouse, it is important to provide good lighting. In the cold season it is recommended to heat the room using electric boiler, infrared cable or stoves, burzhuek. Small greenhouses are heated with regular wood fires.
The salad needs frequent watering from a watering can with a wide spray or using an automatic drip system. Cold water cannot be used.. Young plants need to be protected from pests. Slugs are removed with their hands and destroyed; aqueous solutions of insecticides can be used against the aphids.
Useful video about the care of the salad in the greenhouse:
Yield
In greenhouse conditions the salad is growing very fast. Heads ripen in 1.5 months after planting, leaf can be cut in 2-3 weeks. Cut with a sharp knife, removing the young leaves at the root.
After collecting the plants must be carefully watered. Provide uninterrupted flow of greenery will help planting portions in 1-2 weeks. From 1 square. meters per season can collect not less than 2 kg fresh greens. The yield of lettuce depends on the variety. The most productive is Iceberg, arugula, frieze, watercress and lettuce.
Salad greenhouses
For growing lettuce suitable summer greenhouses made of woodcovered with plastic wrap. Those who want to get fresh greens in the winter should build a solid greenhouse made of metal, covered with polycarbonate or glass.
Double glazing will save plants even in the most severe winter. Greenhouse must have vents for airing and double doors with a vestibule. How to locate a greenhouse on the plot, read on our website.
The sizes of greenhouses are arbitrary, for industrial cultivation suitable buildings from 100 square meters. m, for small farmsteads they build greenhouses ranging from 20 to 50 square meters. m
In the greenhouse you can sow not only salad, but also other cultures: cabbage, spicy herbs, dill, parsley, green onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, including flowers.
