In the Garden: Growing Your Own Lettuce

 Lettuce សាឡាត់          served ដាក់ជូនពិសារ              Iceberg សាឡាត់អាសប៊ឺហ្គ៍

University of Illinois Extension កម្មវិធីកសិកម្មនៃសាកលវិទ្យាល័យអ៊ីលីណយ

Place ដាំ                                to hold ផ្ទុកបាន                                    So ដើម្បី

Soil ដី                                    Next បន្ទាប់មកទៀត                            Seedlings ពន្លក

Too cold ត្រជាក់ពេក         Hole រន្ធ                                  Harvest ប្រមូលផលដំណាំ

Whole ទាំងមូល            Ground level នៅលើដី              Remainder ដែលនៅសល់           

Some people like to start their dinner with a salad of lettuce or other leafy greens. Ancient Egyptians and Romans also like to have lettuce with their evening meal. But they served it at the end. There are hundreds of kinds of head and leaf lettuces. The most popular ones include head lettuces such as iceberg, Boston, bibb and romaine. Expert says lettuce is one of easiest vegetables to grow in your garden. The best time to plant the seeds are during cool weather.

Advisors at the University of Illinois Extension say the best planting temperature is fifteen degree Celsius. Lettuce seeds are small, so do not place them too deep in the ground. If you plant some seeds every week or two, you will harvests ready to eat one after another.

You can use a seed tray to start the seeds indoors. The container should be deep enough to hold at least three centimeters of soil. There should be about one centimeter of space between the soil and the top of the container. The container should have holes in the bottom so extra water can flow out.

Drop the seeds over the surface and cover them lightly with soil. If the soil is not already a little wet, give it some water. 

But not too much—you do not want to drown the seeds. Next, cover the seed tray with paper. Remove the paper when the seedlings have grown up far enough to touch it. You can transplant the seedling into the garden when they are about two to three centimeters tall. Do this when the weather is not too hot and not too cold. Take out as much of the soil as you can with the seedlings. Plant them in the ground in a hole that is bigger than the lettuce roots. Keep the plants watered, but not too heavily.

Harvest leaf lettuces when the leaves are big enough to eat. Pull the leaves from the outside of the planting so the inside leaves will keep growing. Or, you can cut off the whole plants. Leaves about two or three centimeters above the ground so the plant will re-grow. Cut off head lettuces at ground level. Lettuce is best when served fresh.

Store the remainder in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. It will last a few days and sometimes longer.   

 

VOA Learning English for VOA Special English 
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