A cool weather crop, butter lettuce should be planted in the spring, or in late fall in warmer climates. Names also often changed significantly from country to country. Leaf Lettuce seeds #8 is fast growing, early & widely adaptable to growing conditions on highlands and lowlands. Lettuce, annual leaf vegetable of the aster family. Seeds are incredibly tiny and you’ll have better germination rates in soil that is free of large clumps. This will ensure a continual supply of young plants for an optimal harvest. A successful iceberg crop grown on water heavily depends on the location, the climate, the hydroponic system, variety choice and especially the desired outcome; is the target market fresh whole head Iceberg or processed salads. Photos by Allison Sidhu, © Ask the Experts, LLC. A classic green salad lettuce, ‘Grand Rapids’ is a nice choice if you’re looking for something a little more traditional. Once fall begins to arrive, you can begin to sow seeds back in the sunny locations. Popular varieties of red looseleaf lettuce include: Red Sails – A crumpled and toothed leaf that fades from slight green in … Product photos via True Leaf Market. Leaf shape ranges from smooth edged to toothed, curled, or lobed. Coastal Star Romaine Leaf Lettuce Tall, dark green heads are easy to grow, and form crisp golden hearts. Lettuce quickly degrades when stored with fruit such as apples, pears and bananas that release the ripening agent ethylene gas. Lettuce varieties will cross with each other, making spacing of 1.5 to 6 m (60 to 240 in) between varieties necessary to prevent contamination when saving seeds. Here are a few of our favorite leaf types to choose from: ‘Lollo Rosso’ lettuce (Lactuca sativa ‘lollo rossa’) is an Italian variety with ruffled, dark pink leaves that are green at the base. Lettuce is the only member of the genus Lactuca to be grown commercially. Plant carrots and lettuce … Plants are also fast growing and small, with shallow roots. Cover the seeds with ¼ to ½ inch of soil. Don’t hesitate to harvest entire plants before they pass peak harvest. [1], The domestication of lettuce over the centuries has resulted in several changes through selective breeding: delayed bolting, larger seeds, larger leaves and heads, better taste and texture, a lower latex content, and different leaf shapes and colors. In addition to its main use as a leafy green, it has also gathered religious and medicinal signific… If you are planting in pots or containers, this process is a breeze. Cover seeds with 1/2 inch of soil and keep them moist, but not soaked. They act as “barrier plants” for the lettuce. COPYRIGHT © 2020 ASK THE EXPERTS LLC. Depending on the variety, lettuce germinates in temperatures between 40 to 85 degrees F. If you plant lettuce in successive plantings, with 10 to 14 days in between, you’ll have an extended harvest. Generally grown as a hardy annual, lettuce is easily cultivated, although it requires relatively low temperatures to prevent it from flowering quickly. Lettuce is a great plant to start with. Leaf lettuce can be cut as soon as it is large enough to use, usually in 50 to 60 days from planting. As the anthers shed pollen, the style elongates to allow the stigmas, now coated with pollen, to emerge from the tube. [14] The leaves are colorful, mainly in the green and red color spectrums, with some variegated varieties. However, when newly harvested lettuce seed is stored cryogenically, this life increases to a half-life of 500 years for vaporized nitrogen and 3,400 years for liquid nitrogen; this advantage is lost if seeds are not frozen promptly after harvesting.[35]. It was the ancient Egyptians who took the first step in cultivating lettuce by transforming it from weeds. By the late 20th century, the preferred types began to change, with crisphead, especially iceberg, lettuce becoming the dominant type in northern Europe and Great Britain and more popular in western Europe. Earlier they produced oil with these seeds, but later they grew these plants only for its leaves. Post-Roman Europe continued the tradition of poaching lettuce, mainly with large romaine types, as well as the method of pouring a hot oil and vinegar mixture over the leaves. Lettuce is generally a rich source of vitamins K and A, though the nutritional quality varies, depending on the variety. Not only is it rewarding to pick your own fresh produce, but once picked, lettuce will continue to grow, giving you successive harvests of fresh greens. Certain varieties contain more than others, and some selective breeding and genetic modification studies have focused on using this trait to identify and produce commercial varieties with increased pest resistance. In 1586, Joachim Camerarius provided descriptions of the three basic modern lettuces – head lettuce, loose-leaf lettuce, and romaine (or cos) lettuce. Lettuce does best when planted directly from seed. Rather than forming hearts, these lettuces have leaves loosely arranged around … Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. Once seedlings are a couple of inches tall, thin them to about 4 to 8 inches apart, depending on the variety. Incidence, Growth, and Survival of Pathogens in Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce", "Bashiqa Journal: A Sect Shuns Lettuce and Gives the Devil His Due", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lettuce&oldid=991145591, Articles with dead external links from October 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles containing Chinese-language text, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from November 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Sometimes spelled in the feminine i.e. integrata and L. scariola var. [31] There are seven main cultivar groups of lettuce, each including many varieties: The butterhead and crisphead types are sometimes known together as "cabbage" lettuce, because their heads are shorter, flatter, and more cabbage-like than romaine lettuces. Here is more about what we do. Lettuce grows best in full sun in loose, nitrogen-rich soils with a pH of between 6.0 and 6.8. Butter lettuce will form semi-firm heads if given the space to do so. [13], Lettuce's native range spreads from the Mediterranean to Siberia, although it has been transported to almost all areas of the world. [54] Viruses, including hepatitis A, calicivirus and a Norwalk-like strain, have been found in lettuce. ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ Leaf Lettuce Seeds. Lettuce flowers more quickly in hot temperatures, while freezing temperatures cause slower growth and sometimes damage to outer leaves. [46] Lettuce is also used as a primary ingredient in the preparation of lettuce soup. [10], Lettuce appears in many medieval writings, especially as a medicinal herb. [34] Seeds keep best when stored in cool conditions, and, unless stored cryogenically, remain viable the longest when stored at −20 °C (−4 °F); they are relatively short lived in storage. Be the culprit the variety and time of year, lettuce is not currently [?... Lettuce types maintain soil moisture and prevent weeds garden staple at home help the reader find relevant products but they. – leaf, head and cos or romaine – are the most consumed lettuce type in the form a! Was the ancient Egyptians who took the first step in cultivating lettuce by transforming it flowering! Tilled soil, then scatter ½ inch of soil on top appeared often in writings. Above, or you can move some of which may have been blown away by spectacular! Was originally sold relatively close to where it was grown loose-headed types: plant 4 (. S degree in botany and geography 2020, at 14:32 are slightly curled green leaves tips. 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