"---Pete---" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone, it's gardening time again!
smile

I always have a difficult time with starting my lettuce plants
indoors. This year I took a new approach which was more
successful than previous years. Here's the details...

I'm using those modular plastic seed starting things
with 6 cells per 5 inch by 5 inch module, each filled
with pre-moistened seed starting mix. Then I water
each cell with a water & benolmyl solution to keep
it safe from mildew & disease. Ok, that's my usual
routine with all my plants starrted indoors.

The part I did different this year is that instead of
using a tweezer to plant 3 or 4 lettuce seeds per
cell, I spill out the seed on a flat surface and use my
fingers to pinch a whole bunch of seeds and then
gently push the whole bunch into the very top layer
of soil for a given cell. The results were great becasue
now I have about 6 to 10 sprouts in each cell. Then I
used a pair of mini electrical diagonal cutters to snip
out all but 2 sprouts in each cell.

Question is...
How many lettuce sprouts should I allow to grow per cell?

My guess is two sprout, maybe three per cell. The problem will be
separating them from each other when it/s time to transplant into the
garden. Too many sprouts per cell will make a dense rat/s nest of roots.

I have found lettuce to be one of the easier seeds to starts indoors,
providing the seed are fresh.

I 3/4-fill a plastic tray with 'moist' potting soil, lightly broadcast the
seed, cover seeds with a shallow layer of 'moist' potting soil, then cover
the tray with a loose fitting, clear lid (altho plastic wrap would probably
work, too).

Seeds sprout in less than a week. Once the first set of true leaves appear,
I add a little more potting soil to snug them up. About a week later, I
transplant the larger ones into another tray on 2" centers.

--
TQ