(Garden Lettuce)

Growing fresh crispy lettuce in the garden is as easy as 1-2-3 if you have good soil and the right climate. This fast growing cool season annual is relished for its crisp heads of tasty sweet foliage.

Lettuce originates from Northern Europe, Africa and Asia and is known to have been eaten by the Ancient Egyptians and Romans. The wild lettuce species, Lactuca serriola, is the parent to all cultivated lettuce and has sparse rosettes of foliage, but over time it was selected and bred to...

Originating in Kentucky in the mid-nineteenth century, 'Bibb' is a prototype of today's butterhead lettuces. It produces dense rosettes of flavorful, crisp-textured, glossy green leaves. Plants grow from seed to harvest in about 55 days. Outer leaves can be harvested for "baby greens" at about 30 days. Successive plantings every two weeks will yield a continual harvest as long as moderate weather prevails.

Butterhead lettuce is a cold-hardy annual garden vegetable grown for its crisp, tasty,...

(Garden Lettuce, Looseleaf Lettuce)

The heirloom looseleaf lettuce, ‘Black Seeded Simpson’, was first introduced around 1850 and is still popular today. Its large, crinkly, bright green leaves form loose heads that are heat tolerant and slow to bolt. This is one of the best varieties to replant for a continuous harvest. The leaves are ready to harvest 40 to 50 days after planting and heads can be harvested in 60 to 65 days.

Lettuce is a cool season, annual vegetable and there are many forms, colors and types. Loosehead or butterhead...

(Butterhead Lettuce, Garden Lettuce)

A 1963 All-American Selection Winner from the United States Department of Agriculture, ‘Buttercrunch’ is now a garden standard. It forms loose heads of folded thick leaves with a buttery texture. The leaves are typically bright green but may have slight reddish tint. It is moderately heat resistant and slow to bolt, though the leaves will develop a bitter flavor in high heat. The leaves or heads are ready for harvest in 55 to 65 days after planting.

Loosehead or butterhead lettuce is an annual...

(Claremont Romaine Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce)

This dwarf romaine produces compact, upright, open-topped heads of flavorful, rich-green leaves. The heads mature about 46 days after seeds are sown, but young leaves can be harvested earlier for "baby greens." Successive plantings every two weeks will yield a continual harvest as long as suitable weather prevails.

An essential ingredient of Caesar salad, romaine (or "cos") lettuce is an annual garden vegetable grown for its upright, oblong heads of ribbed, thick-textured leaves. The relatively...

(Romaine Lettuce)

The heirloom romaine lettuce, ‘Crisp Mint’, has thick, crisp, green leaves with ruffled edges and a corrugated texture. These form compact, dense heads that are excellent for home production and eating. Unlike most other romaine types, the heads are broader than they are tall. Each head is ready to harvest in 60 to 65 days after planting.

Lettuce is a cool season, annual vegetable and there are many forms, colors and types. Romaine (Cos) lettuce is known for its dense elongated heads of thickly...

(Red Oakleaf Lettuce)

An oakleaf-type lettuce that holds its flavor and color in the heat of summer, 'Danyelle' produces thick, upright rosettes of glossy, burgundy-red leaves. The leaves are ruffled and deeply lobed.

This looseleaf lettuce grows from seed to full size in about 52 days, but young leaves can be harvested earlier for "baby greens." Successive plantings every two weeks will yield a continual harvest as long as moderate weather prevails.

Looseleaf lettuce is a cold-hardy annual vegetable grown for...

(Cos Lettuce, Forellenschuss Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce)

The heirloom romaine lettuce, ‘Forellenschuss’, produces open heads of fresh, crisp lettuce. Its short leaves are upright, smooth and green with burgundy-red spotting. The name of this Austrian favorite directly translates to "trout shot" and refers its irregular spotting that's similar to that of a trout. Like most lettuce varieties, it grows and tastes best if grown in cool, temperate weather. The leaves or heads are ready to harvest in 50 to 60 days after planting.

Lettuce is a cool season,...

(Butterhead Lettuce)

An ornamental and tasty butterhead or "bibb type" lettuce, this heirloom cultivar is a great choice for edible landscaping during the cool months of the growing season. It originated in France in the nineteenth century.

Plants have a collar of burgundy-red leaves surrounding a loose central "head" of paler leaves. The red hues are strongest in cool weather. This variety is ready to harvest 50 to 60 days after sowing. Successive plantings every 10 to 14 days will yield a season-long harvest,...

(Galactic Lettuce, Garden Lettuce)

The ruffled, burgundy-red leaves of this disease-resistant loose-leaf lettuce are ornamental and tasty. Best when harvested young, 'Galactic' was developed for use in mixtures of "baby" salad greens.

Plants have a collar of burgundy-red leaves surrounding a central core or "head" of smaller leaves. The red hues are strongest in cool weather. Ready to harvest as baby greens about 28 days after sowing, 'Galactic' reaches full size about 30 days later. Successive plantings every two weeks will yield...