Growing lettuce

Now is a good time to be harvesting lettuce if youve already planted some this year.

For those who havent, the best time to sow the seeds is in spring and early summer and keeping them moist is key to successful growing.

Growing lettuce in the UK is ideal as it best suited to cooler climes, while they do not grow especially well in direct line of the sun, according to Vegetable-Garden-Guide.com.

"Ideally, lettuce plants require a rich, humous-laden soil that will hold moisture in the summer," it says.

"They may require the soil to have lime added as a soil pH of 6.5 is just right – test your soil – but dont be too rigid."

To add a bit of diversity to the lettuces you grow, try growing one from each of the four main varieties; cos, looseleaf, crisphead and butterhead.

Spring lettuces are more difficult to grow than the summer variety and often grow better when grown under glass.