Growing lettuce, for many gardeners, is the quintessential leaf vegetable to raise in their patches. And it's no surprise that they are the most common leaf vegetables grown. What is surprising for many novice gardeners is that they are quite simple to grow - and can be grown almost year-round.

Lettuce comes in many different varieties these days: common Iceberg, Romaine (Cos), butternut, coral, festive, radiccio, chard, endives, rocket...and the list goes on. And it seems that a new variety (or two hundred) turns up in seed packets every season.

What makes growing lettuce such an endearing leaf vegetable is that they are relatively simple to raise and they yield so abundantly. Many of the chards and mesclun varieties even have the ability to be pick-and-grow again type plants that offer small families the option to take only as much as they need, when they need it. Plus the lettuce can continue to grow and produce for months afterwards.

Growing lettuce from scratch

The best way to start growing lettuce is from seedlings (seed starters). You can grow them from seed but they are best raised in seedling trays or punnets than directly sown into the soil. It also allows you to start them earlier than the beginning of spring so that once the season changes you can have them in the soil with a big head-start.

Once your lettuce seedlings have grown 2 or more leaf offshoots they are large enough to transplant. The soil must be warm enough and frosts should no longer be a credible threat otherwise your lettuces may not make it.

Begin planting them out and immediately apply a liquid fertiliser - fish emulsion, worm wee or compost tea are best. The growing period for lettuce is quite short so slow-release fertilisers will be fairly inneffective. Sticking with regular applications of liquid fertiliser and readily available bonemeal is the key to helping these plants grow to their full capacity.

Once you transplant your seedlings into the soil they will become the next buffet for many of your garden pests. Sowbugs and snails can demolish your whole patch within a single night and you'll find yourself questioning whether you even planted them or not. While some gardeners will reach for the pesticide spray or the snail pellets they can be organically controlled using copper for snails or sawdust or pine needles to deter woodlice. You may even opt to cover them for the start of their new life with a garden cloche.

When can you grow your lettuces?

The vegetable patch, directly in soil, is a good place to start. But once you've mastered that skill the sky's the limit (literally) as to where they can be grown. Lettuce can be placed quite close together as long as they have enough space to expand their growing leaves.

Many gardeners choose to grow lettuce in pots or containers that are close and accessible to the kitchen. They don't require any special treatment in this environment except for in the hotter months when they will require regular daily waterings.

Some gardeners have even opted to growing lettuce indoors, either on window-sills or in greenhouses. They can be grown in traditional growing mediums or even converted to hydroponic growing cells. This gives the gardener access to lettuce leaves throughout the year, or can at least extend the growing season for a few months more.

If you haven't tried your hand at growing lettuce in your garden give it a go. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is.