Heat Today will be hot in the south of the Netherlands: up to 33 degrees! Check whether your reservoir is still full, whether the mix is still moist, shade vulnerable plants around midday, and wait with sowing until it cools down.
Lettuce
Cos lettuce: sowing, growing and harvesting
Our cos lettuce - or Romaine lettuce - is a tasty, crisp type of lettuce. It can handle warm weather pretty well, better than ordinary lettuce. And, it's even healthier too.
What is cos lettuce?
Cos lettuce, also known as romaine lettuce, has much firmer leaves than head lettuce, which makes it deliciously crisp. It is especially popular in Southern Europe in summer and keeps quite well after harvesting.
Our cos lettuce grows compactly, so four plants fit comfortably in a 30 by 30 cm square.
How good for you is cos lettuce?
Cos lettuce contains about 5x as many vitamins and minerals as head lettuce.
It's rich in vitamins A, B11, C, and K (folic acid), and also contains B1, B2, and B6. Plus the minerals manganese, iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and copper and the amino acid tryptophan. And guess how many calories? None 🙂
So, cos lettuce is super healthy.
It's rich in vitamins A, B11, C, and K (folic acid), and also contains B1, B2, and B6. Plus the minerals manganese, iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and copper and the amino acid tryptophan. And guess how many calories? None 🙂
So, cos lettuce is super healthy.
More about our cos lettuce
This cos lettuce tastes somewhere between romaine and head lettuce. It is a deliciously crisp variety that copes fairly well with warm weather, better than ordinary head lettuce.
The mini heads grow compactly upwards, so they do not take up much space.
- Variety: Little Gem - Sucrine
- Family: leafy greens
- Plants per square: 4
- Height: 15 to 25 cm
- Sowing time: March to September
- Sowing depth: 0.5 cm
- Time to harvest: from 6-8 weeks
- Germination: 2 to 14 days at 5 to 18°C
- Sunlight: grows in sun or shade
What do you need to grow your own cos lettuce?
Besides the seeds, you need:
- a 30 by 30 cm square
- Makkelijke Moestuin Mix or MM coconut mix
- a spot with at least 4 hours of sunlight a day
How do you sow and grow cos lettuce?
Cos lettuce is included in the free Makkelijke Moestuin app. Use it, and you'll get step-by-step guidance from seed to harvest.
Each vegetable goes through a number of stages - we call them levels. The app tells you exactly what to do at each level and checks in when your plants are ready for the next.
So, you don't need to know how to grow cos lettuce before you start: the app takes you through every step.
But if you'd like to read more about those steps, here's what the process looks like:
Each vegetable goes through a number of stages - we call them levels. The app tells you exactly what to do at each level and checks in when your plants are ready for the next.
So, you don't need to know how to grow cos lettuce before you start: the app takes you through every step.
But if you'd like to read more about those steps, here's what the process looks like:
Level 1: Sowing cos lettuce
Choose a square in one of the first two rows of your raised bed. Loosen and moisten the mix, then sow as follows:
make 4 holes in the square, no deeper than 1 cm
put 2 to 3 seeds in each hole
carefully close the holes
Depending on the weather and the time of year, you will see the first green shoots after about a week.
Level 2: Cos lettuce seedlings
If you see the first seedlings, you know you're on track.
They probably won't all come up at once, but after another week, you should see most of them.
Then it's time for the next level.
They probably won't all come up at once, but after another week, you should see most of them.
Then it's time for the next level.
Level 3: Thinning cos lettuce seedlings
More than one seedling may come up in the spots you sowed. Choose the best seedlings and remove the rest: that's called thinning out. It might sound harsh, but it's necessary. The remaining plants will have the room they need to grow.
So, you'll end up with 4 healthy cos lettuce plants.
If you see places where nothing came up, sow a few more seeds.
And keep an eye out for snails: they love tender seedlings.
So, you'll end up with 4 healthy cos lettuce plants.
If you see places where nothing came up, sow a few more seeds.
And keep an eye out for snails: they love tender seedlings.
Level 4: Caring for your cos lettuce plants
After a week or 2, your seedlings will become small plants.
You don't need to do much for the next few weeks: water the base of the plants if the weather is dry and remove dead or yellow leaves once in a while. Easy 🙂
You don't need to do much for the next few weeks: water the base of the plants if the weather is dry and remove dead or yellow leaves once in a while. Easy 🙂
Level 5: Harvesting cos lettuce
At this stage, it's about 7 to 8 weeks after sowing and the plants are ready for the first harvest.
There are 2 ways to harvest:
Option 1:
Cut or pick the individual leaves. As long as you leave the center, new leaves will continue to grow.
Then you can keep harvesting for a few weeks.
Option 2:
Harvest the whole heads. Cut off 1 or 2 of the heads just above the soil mix. They'll probably be a bit small at first but really tasty.
Let the remaining heads keep growing. You'll harvest them in the coming weeks.
There are 2 ways to harvest:
Option 1:
Cut or pick the individual leaves. As long as you leave the center, new leaves will continue to grow.
Then you can keep harvesting for a few weeks.
Option 2:
Harvest the whole heads. Cut off 1 or 2 of the heads just above the soil mix. They'll probably be a bit small at first but really tasty.
Let the remaining heads keep growing. You'll harvest them in the coming weeks.
How do you use cos lettuce?
The crisp lettuce is a great for green salads. It goes well with all kinds of other lettuce. You can add fruit like apples or pears. Or use it to make a tasty lentil, pea, or bean salad.
You can also stew the leaves (briefly), or stir fry them. This is a great option when the plants are already flowering.
You can also stew the leaves (briefly), or stir fry them. This is a great option when the plants are already flowering.
The last levels
Keep harvesting the cos lettuce until the plants shoot up from the middle. This means that they'll start to flower soon.
That upward growth means it's time to harvest right away. The leaves won't be as tasty raw but are still good with mashed potatoes or in a stir fry.
The last level: empty your cos lettuce patch or your MM-Mini and prepare it for the next round of sowing.
That upward growth means it's time to harvest right away. The leaves won't be as tasty raw but are still good with mashed potatoes or in a stir fry.
The last level: empty your cos lettuce patch or your MM-Mini and prepare it for the next round of sowing.
So: ready to grow your own cos lettuce?
It's an easy vegetable to grow, super healthy, and delicious. Great for summer salads. You'll rarely find this lettuce in the supermarket.
Plus: our materials and app make it practically impossible to fail 🙂
Get your cos lettuce seeds here or get started with a complete starter kit:
Plus: our materials and app make it practically impossible to fail 🙂
Get your cos lettuce seeds here or get started with a complete starter kit:
Enjoy!
