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| Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller |
| Let’s hope you enjoy your lettuce before the bunnies do! |
Lettuce has come a long way since crisp iceberg was the only variety available in the grocery store. Now there are so many types of lettuce, it’s hard to choose just one – and you don’t have to if you grow your own! Generally considered a cool-season crop, lettuce and other salad greens can be grown in the ground in your own back yard or in a container, where you can harvest them as cuttings.
Before you grow, there’s just a bit you need to know about these tasty plants. Some varieties are more delicate and must be grown in cool – but not cold – weather, while others are heartier and can continue to grow and produce in a cold frame in milder climates or in the shade in slightly warmer weather. No matter which you choose, you can sow the seed directly into your garden in early spring (or try starter plants later in the season) and plant again in late summer to enjoy deep into fall. If you relish a good salad, give at least a few of these varieties a try in your garden: | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller | | Lettuce prefers 5-6 hours of direct sun per day and moist, well-drained soil. |
Butterhead Lettuce: This type is a real treat, with soft leaves that have a mild taste and a beautiful light green or slightly red color. The leaves form a small, loose head that resembles a rosette. Butterhead reaches maturity in 60-75 days. Some of the better-known varieties include Bibb and Buttercrunch.
Loose-leaf Lettuces: These are excellent for growing in containers, and some (like mesclun mixes) take as little as 45 days to harvest. The leaves are generally light and ruffled, and they mix well with spicy-tasting salad green varieties. The plants can be harvested by trimming the top 2/3 or by harvesting the older leaves for salad. Then just let them grow new leaves and harvest again! Some delicious loose-leaf lettuces to try are Black Seeded Simpson, which is a green-leafed heirloom variety; Lollo Rosso, which is green with red-ruffled edges; and Oak Leaf, a green variety with long leaves that almost look as if they’ve grown on an oak tree.
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