Because the plants grow quickly and with a minimum of fuss, growing lettuce is one of my favorite gardening activities. There are a wide range of lettuce types to choose from, suitable for any season and geographic location. You can extend your lettuce harvest all year long, even in difficult situations, by adding plastic or a cold frame.
While your freshly picked lettuce types may make you swear off supermarket lettuce, lettuce isn’t just about salads. The leafy green is tasty in sandwiches, wilted in soups, cooked or grilled, and it makes a great ingredient in smoothies.
In a conventional garden or raised beds, lettuce thrives. Have you considered trying hydroponics? Lettuce is a fantastic beginning plant. If you want to educate youngsters about gardening, it’s also a good option.
There is a lettuce out there that will meet your objectives, whether they be climate or cuisine.
Lettuce Varieties
Batavian, butterhead, iceberg, loose leaf, and romaine are the five lettuce types that fall into these categories. The needs and features of each variety vary.
Let’s explore various types of lettuce and the many terrific cultivars available in each category!
Batavian Lettuce Varieties
Batavian lettuces, also known as summer crisp or French crisp, are heat tolerant and ideal for summer cultivation. Start seeds indoors in a chilly room and then relocate outdoors when they need a cool temperature for germination.
Concept
The idea has a stunning flower petal form and is an ideal Batavian kind. It’s suited for the hot south because of its high heat tolerance. The leaves are open when the plant is young, and they close as it grows up. It has a sweet and juicy flavor. It takes 51 days to develop and has lovely green leaves.
Nevada
The state of Nevada is hot, which is to be expected with the state’s namesake lettuce. A light nutty flavor may be detected in the ruffled green leaves. Individual leaves may be harvested or allowed to grow. It takes 48 days for this open-pollinated variety to mature.
Pablo
Pablo is a loose-headed, upright-rosetted Batavian lettuce that grows to be quite large. When used as a base under additional ingredients, such as a fruit salad, the leaves have bronze edge edges that stand out. It takes a long time to bolt, and it has a sweet flavor. Seed Savers Exchange is the source of this heirloom. It takes 62 days to reach maturity.
Butterhead Lettuce Varieties
Butterhead lettuces come in two different forms.
Boston lettuce has loose, spherical heads that are round in shape. Grilled chicken, stir-fried veggies, and shrimp cocktail are all served in the interior leaves of this salad.
Bibb lettuce, the second variety, has delicate leaves. It has dark leaves with crimson borders and grows quicker than Boston. The tiny spherical heads of Bibb lettuce are sweet and delicate. Mini-heads are frequently cultivated.
Nancy
Because it’s so dependable, Nancy is a frequent visitor in my garden. The thick, medium-sized green leaves of this big Boston type create a compact head. Sweet and buttery is the flavor of the dish. When I did frequent farmer’s markets, this one was a hit with consumers. It takes 52 days to mature in the field and is a good performer.
Sylvesta
For a fall garden, I prefer to plant Sylvesta. It prefers chilly temperatures and shorter days. This robust Boston variant has a great taste and creates massive heads. The inner leaves acquire a superb flavor when the outer green leaves blanch. It’s resistant to disease and takes 52 days to reach adulthood.
Deer Tongue
Deer tongue heirloom Bibb lettuce is my favorite variety. Deer tongue has a unusual form, with slightly pointed leaves that resemble a tongue and create a loose head. The baby heads are ready in just 28 days, and this variety has a tremendous taste. In 46 days, it reaches complete maturity.
North Pole
Winter marvel was solely grown as a hardy bibb greenhouse winter lettuce until recently. I’d like to thank you for your time. It has thrived in Zone 4 Maine winters outdoors and is very cold hardy. It will bolt and turn bitter in warm weather, but it has a pleasant, sweet taste.
Iceberg Lettuce Varieties
Cabbage is also known as iceberg. It’s the least exciting kind of lettuce, and it has a poor reputation. In my opinion, that is unjustified. The fresh crunch is ideal in the right recipe, and homegrown varieties taste better than what you know from the store. Despite its position on my list of favorite lettuce types, it deserves a spot in any garden.
Webb’s Wonderful
I believe Webb’s wonderful is the best variety to grow iceberg lettuce. Clarence Webb in England originally introduced it in 1890 from Seed Savers Exchange. It tastes buttery and mild, but with the crispness of an iceberg, making you believe it’s a butterhead. It is resistant to heat and doesn’t get bitter. This sort takes 72 days to develop and is slower than other iceberg types.
Jester
Jester’s compact-yet-frilly leaves feature stunning maroon splotches, and it doesn’t look like the typical crisphead lettuce. It has a crunchy, juicy texture and a well-balanced flavor. It’s a slow to bolt heat tolerant variety. It takes 60 days to mature.
Lollo
Because of its deep frilly leaves, Lollo lettuces are good for garnishes. It’s also known as coral lettuce in the kitchen. Leaves may be harvested individually or allowed to develop into rosettes, which create a lovely shape. It takes around 60 days to mature.
Dark Red Lollo Rossa
My favorite iceberg lettuce is the dark red lollo rossa. Green around the stem, the heavily frilled leaves are large. The color of the tips is a rich, dark maroon. Even in cloudy weather, it maintains its color well. Cutting the leaves frequently removes the bitterness. When plated, this shape looks stunning. It takes 53 days to mature and grows slower.
Ilema
Ilema has lovely, frilly leaves and is a full-sized green leafed lollo variety. Because of its uniform growth, the plant is excellent for markets. This open-pollinated variety has excellent disease resistance and takes 55 days to develop.
Revolution
Revolution has vividly frilly leaves and a stunning deep red color. The thick, crunchy texture “beefs up” a salad, which is why I like it. It takes 48 days to mature in cool spring or autumn weather.
Loose Leaf Lettuce Varieties
Red, green, and oakleaf leaf lettuce are available. Unlike other varieties, the loose leaves develop from a single stem rather than a bundled head. They’re ideal for salads and wilted lettuce, and they should be cut into individual leaves.
Loose leaf lettuces are ideal for beginners because of their ease and speed. Plant several varieties to make your salad pop by choosing from a variety of colors and textures.
Black-Seeded Simpson
Black-seeded Simpson is my favorite loose leaf variety, and it’s a popular heirloom. If maintained to its full size, it becomes a huge plant that may grow up to 16 inches. Early spring is the best season for this kind. In salads, the tender green leaves have jagged edges that are appealing. Baby heads mature in 28 days, whereas full-size maturity takes 46 days.
Red Salad Bowl
With its bright scarlet color, red salad bowl is a striking addition to any salad. The compact frilly rosettes of oak leaves have a wonderful creamy flavor and are shaped in compact rosettes. Because this variety does not like heat, it is ideal for spring and fall production. It has 48-day growing time and is highly resistant to disease.
Romaine Lettuce Varieties
The long leaves that rise upwards towards form a head give Romaine lettuce the column shape. It has a crunchy feel due to its midribs. It’s great for Caesar salads because it has a somewhat bitter flavor.
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is a terrific fully developed mini head, and I adore the tiny lettuces. It may also be allowed to reach its full growth. It’s a lettuce with a cream-colored heart that’s dark green. Monte Carlo develops in just 46 days and has a wonderful taste. It’s also resistant to downy mildew, in addition to other diseases.
Fusion
Do you want a romaine lettuce that can handle the summer heat? Your solution is to fuse. It retains its pleasant taste in the heat and takes a long time to bolt. It matures in 55 days and is resistant to corky root and lettuce mosaic virus.
Jericho
Another of my favorites is Jericho (I already admitted I like to seed lettuces). Because of its desert environment, it was bred in Israel and can deal with the heat. This is a massive lettuce that, if handed rich organic soil, might grow to be two feet tall and weigh three pounds. Crispy and sweet upright leaves It develops in 60 days and has excellent disease resistance.
Rouge d’Hiver
The French heirloom Rouge d’hiver has proven to be a timeless classic. On my Kentucky farm, it performs well as a winter lettuce under some shade, but it doesn’t like the heat. It takes 50 days to grow and has a great flavor.
Salvius
In comparison to most romaine lettuces, Salvius is more tolerant of heat and has a more open habit. It takes 58 days to mature and has a nice crisp texture.
Lettuce Seed Mixes
OK, I admit it: I’m hooked on lettuce mixes. I’ll put a few short rows in my greenhouse in the early spring. I make a delicious baby greens salad in thirty minutes. These are my favorite variations.
Allstar Gourmet Mix
One of my favorites is Johnny’s Seeds’ Allstar Gourmet Lettuce Mix. It contains green and red variations of loose-leaf, oakleaf, romaine, and lollo.
Summer Lettuce Mix
For lettuce lovers, the summer is a trying season. A fantastic mix of heat tolerant lettuce is Fedco’s Summer Lettuce Mix.
The Bottom Line
The feel of lettuce changes with each variety, color, and hardiness. Do your homework, read the descriptions, and don’t be afraid to experiment to determine if a particular variety will work in your region.
In the spring and fall, I plant lettuce every two or three weeks to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the year. That way, I always have fresh salads and sandwich fillings on hand.
