Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Lettuce (
Lactuca sativa
)
One of the most pleasing surprises to me when we started our gardening journey was the amazing
variety of lettuce available. Colorful! Delicious! Zesty! Sweet! The world of Iceberg lettuce is like
black and white television—you don't know what you're missing until you switch to high-def color.
There are four main types of lettuce you can try in your garden:
/
Crisphead lettuce
is the type of lettuce you tend to think of at the grocery store like Iceberg.
These are the most heat tolerant of all the lettuces but will also tolerate cool fall weather.
/
Butterhead lettuce
has hearts as well as loose leaves. This type is drought and heat tolerant
compared to many of the other varieties.
/
Romaine or cos lettuce
has an upright form and doesn't have a thick heart like the previous
two types. Hardy in cold weather, the romaines generally do not tolerate heat well.
/
Loose-leaf or salad bowl lettuce
includes a huge variety, such as black-seeded Simpson, Oak
Leaf, and Red Sails. As the name implies, this type has loose leaves instead of a heart to the
plant. It is the least heat tolerant.
Heirloom lettuce, like this Devil Ears lettuce, provides a myriad of colors and tastes not available in the
grocery store.
(Photo courtesy of Baker Creek Seeds)
Lettuce can be grown anywhere that gets enough water to support it because periods of drought
will cause bitterness in the leaves. When sowing seeds outside you want the soil temperature
between 40°F and 75°F, because if the weather is too warm the seeds won't germinate. Late fall or
early spring is ideal for most of the lettuce types, especially in the warm southern climates.
