How to Grow Red Salad Bowl
Lactuca sativa 'Red Salad Bowl'
Red Salad Bowl lettuce offers tender, red-tinged leaves perfect for fresh salads and sandwiches. Gardeners prize this cool-season variety for its ease of growth and rapid harvest time in spring or fall gardens.
📷 Wikipedia: LettuceStarting Red Salad Bowl: indoors or direct sow?
🌾 Sow directly in the garden — Red Salad Bowl is not usually started indoors.
Direct sow seeds outdoors rather than starting indoors, though seedlings can be transplanted carefully after hardening off if necessary.
Soil, care & harvest
Prepare loose soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 to suit this lettuce variety. Sow seeds directly outdoors two to six weeks before your last expected frost, as they tolerate light cold. Push seeds into the earth about one-quarter inch deep. Expect germination within seven to fourteen days once conditions are right.
Space plants six to eight inches apart to ensure proper airflow and head formation. Although this variety remains small at twelve inches tall, it does not require staking or trellising. Keep soil evenly moist with one to one-and-a-half inches of water weekly. Apply light mulch around the base to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Watch for aphids, leaf miners, slugs, and flea beetles; use row covers or hand-pick pests early. Prevent downy mildew and tipburn by avoiding overhead watering and ensuring good air circulation. Harvest outer leaves when the plant reaches fifty to sixty days old, or cut entire heads if growing as a block.
When to Plant Red Salad Bowl
Planting windows vary by USDA hardiness zone. Look up yours by ZIP code.
| Zone | Start Indoors | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | — | June – July | July – September |
| Zone 2 | — | May – July | July – September |
| Zone 3 | — | May – June | June – October |
| Zone 4 | — | April – June | June – October |
| Zone 5 | — | April – May | June – November |
| Zone 6 | — | April – May | May – November |
| Zone 7 | — | March – May | May – November |
| Zone 8 | — | March – April | April – December |
| Zone 9 | — | February – March | March – December |
| Zone 10 | — | January – March | March – December |
| Zone 11 | — | January – February | February – December |
| Zone 12 | — | January – February | February – December |
| Zone 13 | — | January – February | February – December |
Companion Plants for Red Salad Bowl
✓ Good companions
Different root depths prevent competition and carrots help aerate soil for lettuce
Repels aphids and improves lettuce flavor while providing pest protection
Natural pest deterrent that repels aphids and other soft-bodied insects
Repel nematodes, aphids, and other pests while attracting beneficial insects
Act as trap crop for aphids and cucumber beetles, protecting lettuce
Attracts beneficial insects and provides natural pest control without competing for nutrients
Break up soil for lettuce roots and mature quickly without competing for space
Similar growing requirements and provides natural ground cover to retain soil moisture
✗ Keep away from
Large leaves create excessive shade and compete heavily for soil nutrients
Releases allelopathic compounds that inhibit lettuce growth and development
Create too much shade and have allelopathic effects that stunt lettuce growth
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving (USDA FoodData Central)
