How to Grow Baby Lettuce with the Jang Seeder
Growing Baby Lettuce with the Jang Seeder
Baby lettuce is an easy crop to grow with the Jang Seeder.
Follow the steps below to get started and grow a great crop!
The Jang seeder is the classic market garden seeder.
It has become an industry standard for market farmers all around the world due to its ability to perform well in all soil conditions for a wide variety of crops.
The many available rollers for the Jang Seeder enable it to plant seeds as small as carrots and arugula or as large as peas and corn.
The Jang Seeder is made in South Korea and its quality is second to none. The heavy-duty construction will keep it going year after year, unlike cheap Chinese knockoffs.
If cared for and properly maintained the Jang Seeder will last a lifetime and likely be the only seeder you ever need to buy.
The Specifications for Planting Baby Lettuce with the Jang
| Jang Seeder | JP5 or JP1 |
| Crop | Lettuce (Loose Leaf) |
| Roller | F24 |
| Brush | Down |
| Gear Ratio | 14 Front x 9 Rear |
| Rows/30" Bed | 10 |
| Seed/100' Bed | 145g (+/-) |
Recommended Cultivars:
- Allstar
Days to Maturity:
- 28 days
Target Crop Yield:
- 45 lb (+/-) per 100’ bed
Tools Needed:
- JP5 or JP1 (JP5 recommended)
- Tilther or Power Harrow
- Bed prep rake
- Flame weeder
- Row cover or insect netting (depending on the season)
- Flex tine weeder
- Quick Cut Greens Harvester (or harvest knife if preferred)
Bed Preparation
- Broadfork the bed to aerate and loosen the soil.
- Smooth and shape the bed with a bed prep rake, removing any debris.
- If the previous crop was fertilized, lettuce will do fine without reapplication. If not, here are two options:
1) Layer on 1” of compost, enough to mostly cover the native soil
2) Sprinkle on a combination of alfalfa meal and/or pelleted chicken manure - If layering compost, do not tilth in hopes of smothering any surface weed seed.
- If adding amendments, tilth the top 1” of soil to mix in amendments Irrigate for 10-14 days*, allowing any weed seed in top layer of soil to germinate.
- Flame weed the bed when the cotyledons of the weed seeds have emerged.
- Set up the Jang seeder: F24 roller, gears 14 front and 9 rear, brush down.
- For the JP1, roll out each of the 10 rows evenly spaced across the bed.
- For the JP5, fill all five hoopers and seed the bed in just two passes.
Seeding with the Jang Seeder
Irrigation
- Water the beds with overhead irrigation, or four rows of drip.
- If not growing in a tunnel, cover the beds with floating row cover to prevent pest pressure. The cover will only come off for cultivation and harvest times. Weigh down the edges with sand bags every 5 feet.
- More frequent, shallow waterings will help prevent bolting.
- It is important to water throughout warm days and keep crop covered with shade cloth if attempting to grow in the warm season.
- 14 days after direct seeding, cultivate using a flex tine weeder (2 passes per bed).
- Repeat this process again after another 7 days.
- Make sure to return row cover immediately after cultivation to keep away pests.
Cultivation (Weeding)
Harvesting
- Target size for harvest is a 3-4” (+/-) leaf.
- Approximately 28 days to first harvest (depending on season).
- Harvest using the quick cut greens harvester. You can also harvest by hand with a harvest knife, bunching together the greens with one hand, and cutting at lest 1” above the soil with the other hand, so as to avoid cutting the growing point.
- Rake the bed clean after harvest, to ensure a clean second cutting.
- Loose leaf lettuce can produce two to three cuttings per bed.
- Agitate the lettuce by hand (or use a bubbler) for no more than 4 minutes in the wash tube, while scanning for debris, bugs, or damaged greens.
- After drying and bagging (usually in 1/2lb or 1lb bags), store the greens in a refrigerated space.
- Attempt to sell loose leaf lettuce within 3 days of harvest for highest quality.
Washing and Packing
*All dates can vary based on local climate and soil conditions and time of year.
The Jang Seeder makes seeding in field extremely easy. It’s the only seeder you will ever need.
The Jang has become an industry standard for market farmers around the world due to its ability to perform well in all soil conditions for a wide variety of crops.
It is extremely accurate and precise allowing you to control seed spacings down to one-half inch.
Get started with the Jang on your farm and download the Growers Notes below.
INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A JANG SEEDER?
If you have any questions, please reach out hello@paperpot.co or 877.850.1555.