Most lettuces come from the daisy family, but can still be planted together in a raised bed. Plant collards or radishes between the rows of lettuce, lettuce and lettuce. In late summer you can then sow lamb's lettuce from the valerian family.
Which salads can you grow in raised beds?
Various lettuces can be grown in the raised bed, including head lettuce, romaine lettuce, cut lettuce, pick lettuce and chicory lettuce such as endive and radicchio. Lamb's lettuce from the valerian family can be sown in late summer.
Head and romaine lettuces
Lettuce with its soft, aromatic leaves and loose heads is available in green and red-leaved varieties. The newer ones are even tolerant to mildew and still have a fine, nutty aroma. Romaine lettuce, on the other hand, is one of the typical summer lettuces because it does not bloom and develops beautiful heads when the days are long. Batavia and ice cream lettuces also have crisp leaves and firm heads and are grown in summer for harvest in autumn. Head lettuce, romaine lettuce and Batavia should best be grown early and planted directly in the bed as young plants.
Cut lettuce
Cut lettuces are among the first fresh vegetables you can harvest in the garden year. There are many cold-resistant varieties that can easily be grown in raised beds until the first frost. When it comes to lettuce, cut lettuce and lettuce, there are varieties for early cultivation in spring, varieties for summer cultivation and those that are best suited for the second half of the year in autumn. You should pay attention to this when choosing a variety, because if they are sown or planted at the “wrong” time of year, premature flowering can occur – the lettuce “shoots”. Cut lettuce grows quickly and can be harvested just a few weeks after sowing.
Plucking lettuce
The pick-leaf lettuces include the red- or green-leaved oak leaf, lollo and beak lettuces (these are special varieties with pointed leaves). They can either be harvested gradually from the outside or as a whole, loose head. They are usually a bit crunchier than lettuce.
Chicory salads
Endive and radicchio are chicory salads for growing in autumn. They contain more bitter substances and therefore have their own, typical taste. Friseé salads and sugar loaf also belong to this group.
Lamb lettuce
Field's lettuce is also known as field lettuce, rapeseed lettuce or bird's lettuce. Sowing directly into the bed is possible from September / October; if the weather is too warm, the seeds will not germinate. If you want to harvest in autumn, buy early young plants in late summer and plant them in small tuffs in the bed. In winter, lamb's lettuce should be covered with a fleece (€34.00 at Amazon).
Tip
Lettuce young plants must be planted as “high” as possible so that the leaves are airy. The reason: lettuce that is planted too low does not develop proper heads.
