By Ritah Mukasa
If you are looking for ways of harvesting money from your land in a short time, consider growing lettuce.
Gladys Kaaya, who has been growing it for years in Mukono district says, this vegetable is easy to grow and matures in a short time.
You will harvest after a month. Kaaya supplies homes, hotels and market vendors.
Lettuce makes good salad, juice and can be used in sandwiches plus other foods.
You can plant the leafy type. It won’t take a lot of your time, energy and money to grow according to Alisen Nuwamanya, an agriculturist and farmer majoring in backyard gardening.
He says, lettuce can grow in big and small spaces; use sacks, containers or raised gardens and it doesn’t mind being in full sun or partial shade.
The most common types grown today include; butter head, loose leaf and French varieties among others.
Start with a nursery bed and transplant the seedlings at three weeks. Ensure to plant them in rows, about 1 inch deep and harvest anytime after the leaves form.
However, the leaves might turn bitter and hard if you leave them to grow for a long time.
“We grow two colours; red and green because they are always served together as salads,” he says,
The market is available
Nuwamanya says, lettuce is always on demand. It is sold in pieces or heads. Say in Nakasero market, Kampala, each piece costs between sh1,000-sh1,500 depending on season and size and hotels buy each head between sh2,000-sh3,000.
On the other hand, he says, lettuce isn’t strict on spacing being a short-term crop. Therefore, in an acre you can grow between 8,000-10,000 plants depending on soil fertility and management practices. Remember to mulch your garden.
