Lettuce is a delicate vegetable. It needs to be fertilized in order to grow and thrive, just like any other type of plant. But what fertilizer should you use? And when should it be applied? This article will answer these questions and more! Read on for tips about lettuce fertilizing: when and how to fertilize your lettuce plants!
What kind of fertilizer to use
There are many different types of fertilizer. The type you use will depend on the soil conditions, and what your plants require. Some common fertilizers include compost for organic matter; liquid or dry fertilizer to provide nutrients that can be broken down by microbes into plant-available form; bone meal as a source of calcium; rock phosphate to replace phosphorus lost due to mechanized farming practices like plowing under living root systems or heavy applications of nitrogenous (nitrate) fertilizers which tie up phosphorous in soils so it is unavailable.
NPK ratio
NPK stands for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. NPK ratio is the proportions of each nutrient in a fertilizer that is required by plants. A common NPK ratio for fertilizers used on vegetables like lettuce might be around 15-30-15 or 20-20-20 (nitrogen as nitrate = 30%, phosphorus= 15%, potassium= 20%).
How much fertilizer to apply
A good rule of thumb is to apply an inch or so of compost around the outside edge and into the planting bed, but not in it. That way when you water your plants they will be drawing up nutrients from all that moist organic matter surrounding them at their roots rather than only what you have put on top of the soil.
Fertilizer needs vary depending on a number of factors such as type (vegetables vs flowers), age (younger plants need more fertilizer than older ones) size, health, growing environment, etc., but for most garden vegetables like lettuce, there can never be too much! When in doubt err to applying more fertilizers because adding some right now won’t hurt anything if you then don’t see any.
When and how often to fertilize your lettuce
Lettuce fertilizing should be done on a regular basis. You can find the best information here, but in general, you will want to fertilize with some type of liquid fertilizer two weeks after planting your seedlings and then again every few days until they are about six inches high. For those who prefer more organic methods, there is always using compost tea which does not contain any synthetic chemicals or artificial ingredients such as pesticides or herbicides that may harm other plants like lettuce’s close relative’s cabbage or broccoli when used near them. A good guideline for how often to apply this type of fertilizer would likely be once per week during the first month and less frequently thereafter.