well in the hot soil of mid-summer. Plants | UCCE Master Gardeners of Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties can answer home gardening questions. With a little winter protection it can be grown year … outdoors after the last spring frost. dry weather. Fast sprouting seedlings should emerge in about 5-10 days. Time your Fall crop to mature prior Other folks, know it as Butterhead lettuce. Entire plants can be harvested in mid-development while the leaves are still plump and tender, but before a stem has started to form. and well draining. Space plants about 10-12 inches (25-30 cm.) Both boxes have a clear, removable top that may be opened to regulate and control the temperatures. Keep soil moist to keep plants growing continuously. Place it in a colander and rinse then drip dry. Make sure to keep the soil moist before the seeds sprout. These popular greens form thick, outer leaves giving way to a … You can find this variety in the following Seed Packs: Click the packs below to see some of our other wonderful products. You can choose to harvest microgreens, baby greens, or mature leaves from butter lettuce. Time Butterhead lettuces have an open habit, are quick-maturing and tolerate poorer growing conditions. Check out our website here, You can also find us on Facebook. Use row covers to protect very early plantings from cold, to protect young plants from insects, and (supported by hoops) to shade crops when warm weather arrives. Growing time elements range from 45 to 60 days to harvest. Keep soil moist during the germination Little Gem is the exception with a 50 to 55 day growing period for a smaller, flavorful head. Butter lettuce, along with its sister varieties, has tender leaves and a very mild, slightly sweet flavor. To plant the butter lettuce directly outdoors, begin when the soil is able to be worked in the early spring. This will cause the lettuce to have a tastier, sweeter flavor. She continues to keep plants in her apartment in Texas and has a special love for succulents. Seeds may be sown indoors a few weeks prior to the last frost for your area. Crisphead or iceberg is a staple at your grocery store; round, tight heads with light green crunchy leaves. The small loosely formed heads yield leaves that are at once delicate and yet strong enough to roll into lettuce wraps. The flavors and the nutritional value of home-grown lettuce will impress all. Lettuce is tolerant of a wide range of soils, but prefers well-drained, cool, loose soil with plentiful moisture and pH 6.2 to 6.8. Butterhead lettuce, like most lettuce, does not do well with severe temperatures, so if you are in a warmer climate, you may have been reluctant to grow this green veggie. For a continuous supply of lettuce, plant successive plantings every two weeks. Water lightly but consistently. This indicates the plant is preparing to bolt to seed, and greens collected from such plants are often too bitter for consumption. to spread out the crop. It also holds off on bolting longer than other types of lettuce. 'Mature leaves' can be harvested from all type of lettuce except for iceberg any time in the growing cycle, until a central stem begins to form.