Many people know the delicious and versatile Iceberg lettuce in cooking various dishes. In the article we will consider the basic rules for planting, care and protection of this crop, so that even a beginner gardener can get a good harvest.
iceberg lettuce
regular use of Iceberg lettuce helps to improve blood composition and reduce salts in the body
Iceberg salad unusually tasty and healthy vegetable
Origin of Iceberg Salad
Iceberg lettuce appeared at the beginning of the 20th century in America, its initial name is "crispy salad", for the tender crispy leaves curling in a head of cabbage. To keep the salad fresh, they used an “ice pillow” - crushed ice was poured into the salad box. Due to this, the name “Ice” (ice) was assigned to the salad, and later transformed into “iceberg”.
There are other names: ice mountain, ice salad, cripshead or ice salad.
Specifications
The main characteristics of the iceberg salad:
- leaves are whitish green, tender and crisp;
- head of medium density;
- the weight of a head of cabbage varies from 300 g to 1 kg;
- the taste is not bright, sweet, a small bitterness may be present;
- It is used in salads, side dishes, for decoration of appetizers and sandwiches;
- dense leaves hold their shape well, so they can serve ready-made salad.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of salad are:
- leaves are dense and crispy;
- stored longer than other salads - up to 3 weeks;
- has its own taste, unlike salad;
- the crop can be harvested from early spring to late autumn.
Disadvantages:
- growth requires a larger area than for lettuce;
- susceptible to rot (there are resistant varieties);
- he is very fond of snails and slugs.
Information about the Iceberg salad from benefit to storage is presented in the video below:
Features of planting and growing seeds
For continuous harvest, it is advisable to sow the seeds in several passes in spring:
- sow the first 3 times every 2 weeks;
- summer crops - in a week;
- last 2 visits - again with a frequency of 2 weeks.
Temperature mode:
- it is preferable when during the day the temperature does not exceed +30 ° C, and at night it does not exceed +18 ° C;
- it is important to observe a 3-4-year crop rotation, while an interval of 2 years is needed when growing asteraceae.
Selection of a plot for sowing
In order for the salad to please with friendly sprouts and healthy plants, it is advisable to be guided by several rules when choosing a sowing place:
- Choose light loamy soil with a good structure and high humus content.
- Avoid acidic soils, neutral or alkaline will do. The optimum value of soil acidity (pH) is 6-7 units.
- Neutralize too acidic soils by adding dolomite flour, chalk, slaked lime, ash or peat.
- Adjust the location for the salad according to the intensity of the sun:
- sow in spring and autumn in sunny areas;
- in summer - in partial shade to avoid the formation of flower arrows;
- Withstand a crop rotation period of 3-4 years.
You should not grow lettuce for several years in a row at the same place, and also sow it after cruciferous. Vegetable crops are good precursors to salad: cabbage, celery, leeks, as well as cereals, legumes and potatoes.
Seed preparation
To be sure of the quality of the seed material, it is advisable to purchase it in specialized stores. If the seeds are not zoned, and there is no guarantee in their quality, it is recommended to thicken the crops. In the case of friendly seedlings, the rows can be thinned out or seedlings of plants.
Before sowing, the preparation of seed material is carried out:
- Quality. To at home independently calibrate large and heavy seeds and separate the “empty” ones. Immerse them in a 3-5% solution of sodium chloride, mix. After 15 minutes, pick up and discard the seeds that have surfaced. Rinse the rest in running water, dry and can be sown.
- Germination. To check, wrap a pinch of seeds in a damp cloth and see how much it will hatch. Sprouted seeds can be planted in the ground.
- Disinfection. Soak the seeds in a 1% potassium permanganate solution, rinse with running water after 10-15 minutes.
- Fertilizing and stimulating germination. Soak the seeds in an Ideal, Epin, Zircon or other similar preparation before sowing.
It is preferable to choose coated seeds - they are convenient to sow, they are protected from various diseases and are characterized by good germination.
Sowing seeds in open ground
The main recommendations for sowing seeds in open ground:
- Grow lettuce on high beds, they are warmed up by the sun earlier, give a friendly shoot of seeds and allow you to shoot an earlier crop.
- Prepare a place for sowing in the fall - dig the earth on a bayonet shovel and add organic matter: a compost bucket for 1 kg of wood ash and 3 tbsp. l complex mineral fertilizer per 1 sq. km. m
- Prepare beds for sowing, starting from the first half of April, when the snow will melt:
- thoroughly plow the earth;
- cover with a covering material or film to warm the soil well;
- if the ground is covered with a film, then it must be removed periodically for ventilation;
- when the street will have a positive temperature of 15-17 degrees (end of May-beginning of April) on the beds, every 40 cm, make furrows 3 cm deep;
- You can make rows according to the scheme 30X20 or 30X30 cm;
- compact the earth, pour water.
- Sow the seeds at a distance of 20-30 cm, falling asleep with a layer of earth of 1 cm. You can increase the density of sowing seeds with subsequent thinning of the plants.
Sowing seedlings
Sowing seedlings as follows:
- In pressed peat cubes - just lay the seeds on top and moisten, do not sprinkle with earth.
- In glasses, cassettes or special containers with cells:
- use store land or from a site on which seedlings are later planned to be planted;
- fill the glasses with soil, compact the earth;
- in each glass, sow 2-3 seeds to a depth of 1 cm.
- Special boxes with fertile soil - make small furrows and put seeds in them:
- pour water and cover with a film to preserve heat and moisture;
- before emergence (about 48 hours), try to maintain a temperature of 16-17 ° C;
- after germination, increase the temperature to 25 ° C.
By mid-May (3-4 weeks after sowing), when 4-5 true leaves appear and seedlings reach a height of 8-10 cm, plants are planted in open ground. Previously, for 3-5 days, the salad is hardened, for this day seedlings are taken out at partial shade. It is important to protect it from drafts, wind and direct sunlight.
In the first two plantings, seedlings aged 8-9 weeks are planted in open ground. As soon as the temperature rises, it is possible to plant younger plants - about 3 weeks.
When planting in the soil from cups, it is important not to disturb the earthen lump and root structure, then the plant will take root better and faster.
Transplanting seedlings
Planting seedlings in the soil is carried out in the following order:
- In the prepared bed with a wide pointed stake, make holes according to the scheme: every 40 cm - a series of holes, and in a row the distance between the holes is 20-30 cm (the iceberg grows very much and it needs enough space to tie heads).
- Well holes and seedlings are well watered. Take the salad out of the cups easily by tapping the container or tapping to gently remove the earthen lump. Press the pressed peat cubes into the wells immediately.
- Sprinkle seedlings in the holes with soil, deepening the plant by a maximum of 2/3. The growth point must remain above the ground.
- Squeeze the plant on all sides and water it.
- Mulch with dry grass to maintain moisture in the ground for a long time.
- At first, to protect against possible frosts, cover the seedlings with a film or cups made of plastic bottles.
For the growth of elastic heads, it is important to observe the temperature regime. If the daytime temperature is above 30 degrees, and the night temperature is above 18, then setting a head of cabbage is difficult.
Planting seedlings of varying degrees of growth can stretch the ripening of the crop, the larger and stronger shoots will ripen first, and the weak shoots will ripen later.
To improve the survival rate of plants, it is recommended to “peel” peat cubes, this is especially important in case of heat and poor contact of the pot with the soil.
Sowing in the winter
Sowing is carried out at an ambient temperature of + 1 + 3 ° C to a depth of 1-1.5 cm. The advantage of this sowing is that the salad ripens in the spring 10-15 days earlier. It turns out larger and stronger than sown in the spring.
But there is a minus, in the possibility of freezing part of the seeds. Therefore, during winter sowing, the salad is sown 1.5-2 times thicker, then the bed is covered with covering material, peat, dry grass or fallen leaves. When it gets warm in the spring - the shelter is removed.
The subtleties of care
To get a tasty and healthy iceberg salad, it is very important to properly and regularly care for seedlings. Of particular importance is watering, top dressing and weeding, since a lack of nutrients or a large number of weeds negatively affect the growth of lettuce.
Watering
The plant is demanding on moisture and watering. It is worth adhering to the following recommendations:
- Watering plantings regularly, in moderation.
- Once a week or every other day, depending on the weather, do heavy watering.
- If the soil is too dry, the heads of cabbage will not form well, and if they are too wet, there is a risk of rot.
- To prevent the appearance of rot during the hot period in the last week of crop growth, it is advisable to water at night.
- As soon as the ovaries form, shorten the watering.
Watering options:
- sprinkling irrigation:
- the need for watering is determined by the condition of the plants and taking into account weather conditions;
- water can splatter dirt on leaves;
- drip irrigation:
- water consumption decreases;
- moisture is distributed more evenly;
- the ability to apply fertilizer to plants with watering;
- the likelihood of developing diseases decreases;
- plant cleanliness is maintained;
- more labor compared to sprinkling;
- the ability to use mulch and shelter.
Top dressing
For good growth and a beautiful presentation, the salad needs additional nutrition:
- feed the plants 2 times: before sowing and during the formation of heads of cabbage;
- combine top dressing with watering;
- add organic matter: a solution of mullein or bird droppings (1-2 tbsp. per 10 liters of water);
- to prevent the appearance of brown veins on the leaves, provide a calcium supply.
Ideal autumn liming of the soil and regular foliar calcareous top dressing.
Shelter
Features of the use of covering material:
- cover the salad immediately after planting in the ground;
- control the temperature at +20 degrees, remove the covering material;
- ventilate the plants regularly;
- on hot summer days, cover the salad with agrofiber to protect from scorching sunlight.
Weeding and thinning
When caring for a salad, you must follow the rules:
- The first loosening of the soil - a month after sowing, at the same time weed the weeds.
- Loosen shallow, since the roots of the salad are located almost at the surface.
- Too dense and dense landings provoke illnesses and make heading difficult:
- for the first time, arrange planting in the phase of one real leaf, leaving shoots every 4-5 cm;
- the second time - when 6-7 of this leaf appears, leaving the plants in 20-10 cm.
- If the plants are too rare, there is a risk of contamination of the salad during watering.
Why are there no ovaries of heads?
Sometimes, even with the correct and regular care of the plantings, it is not possible to get a good harvest, since there are no ovaries of heads of cabbage.
This can happen for several reasons:
- insufficient watering;
- planting lettuce in the shade;
- low, up to 19 ° С temperature;
- too high temperature, more than 25 ° C;
- insufficient amount of sunny days;
- heavily thickened or thinned out plantings on time.
Harvesting and storage
Heading of ripening occurs approximately 45-90 days after sowing. When their diameter is 5-10 cm, you can cut the salad.
Proper harvesting conditions:
- collect early in the morning before it gets hot;
- choose heads for cutting medium density;
- use a sharp knife;
- immediately after collection, pack in a plastic container or bag, wrapping with a damp cloth and cool;
- harvest in heat in 40 days, in cold weather in 70;
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days at a temperature of + 3-5 degrees.
Even after the cut, the salad continues to grow, in the place of the cut near the basal neck, new ovaries form, one of which can be left for further growth.
Diseases and Pests
General recommendations for prevention:
- remove and destroy all plant debris;
- treat all potential foci of infection on time;
- clean and disinfect equipment and machinery;
- predict the flight of pests and set traps on time;
- observe crop rotation;
- comply with storage conditions;
- choose varieties that are most resistant to diseases and pests;
- Do not plant in areas where the causative agent was previously detected.
Like any other garden crop, iceberg lettuce can be attacked by pests and various diseases.
Pests | Control measures |
Snails and slugs | The drug "Thunder". Granules are laid out in places of accumulation of pests. |
Mice | Use mousetraps, poison for rodents. |
Insects:
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Disease
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Vertex rot | It occurs in the stems with a lack of calcium. For prevention, it is necessary to spray plants every week with a solution of calcium nitrate: in the ratio of 100-150 g of saltpeter per 12 liters of water |
Gardeners reviews iceberg lettuce
Olga, 36 years old, economist, Voronezh.The salad is very tasty, I plant it constantly, but the seeds in the stores can not always be found - they are quickly sold out. This year I bought it specially in advance. It grows well, does not shoot, it is enough to thin it and the rest of the heads are enlarged.
Marina, 30 years old, housewife, Kharkov.Sowed salad for the first time, several varieties at once, including Iceberg. Germination was different, some did not sprout at all, and this one stood with bristles. As the plants grew, she began to break through them, and here she clearly felt the difference. The iceberg rises quickly, the leaves adhere tightly to each other, the heads are large, the color is beautiful - bright lime, and most importantly - the leaves are very tasty, crisp.
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Thanks to its large and crispy heads of cabbage, Iceberg salad is gaining more and more popularity.And simple care and the ability to harvest throughout the summer and good safety of the crop dispose to planting this variety on your site.