Sprout spacing after broadcasting seeds

[Carson Miller]

Hi,

I used the 'broadcasting seeds' method mentioned on the aquaponic source website to plant leaf lettuce a couple of weeks ago and the results have been great.  So great, that many sprouts are popping up right next to each other.  

Should I remove some sprouts so that others have adequate spacing, or just let nature take its course?  I'm also not sure how much space each plant requires. Pictures are included. Thank you!

[Jack Dunbar]

Hi Carson, That's a lot of lettuce. Back awhile , I planted Arugula and Mescun Lettuce the same way and I let nature take it's course and they did just fine. I didn't plant as much as you and I ate a lot of salads and a lot went to seed just the same.

[Alex Veidel]

Hidden knowledge of the lazy: Never thin lettuce; only eat it :D

You will want to thin your lettuce sprouts a little down the road, but wait till they get a little more salad size. As soon as they're "baby green" sized, go ahead and pull some out. Since we're doing aquaponics, we don't have to worry as much about nutrient competition, but we do want to make sure we get proper air flow in between our leaves. Things get too crowded, then some of the sprouts fall over, get moist and start being broken down by various molds. Those molds can spread to your healthy leaves and you loose your lettuce.

[Carson Miller]

hahaha thank you both for your advice. :)  I'll start enjoying some greens as soon as they're reasonably sized and 'thin down the herd' for good airflow.