Looseleaf, or bunching lettuce does not form heads. The most wellknown head type of lettuce is iceberg, but butterhead, also known as boston or bibb, is common as well. But we have good reasons for why we love it, so read on boston and bibb lettuces are two varieties of a larger category of butterhead lettuces, according to the food lovers companion. There are dozens of lettuce types, and they fall into five categories. The boston variety has small, round, and loosely formed heads with soft, supple leaves that bruise easily.
Butterhead lettuces have soft, butterytextured leaves that form very loose heads. Several varieties can be planted in the autumn for harvest in spring much earlier than most other lettuce varieties. Among the more recognizable and heavily consumed of these are the romaine, or cos, and the iceburg, or crisp head, varietals. This is the second most commonly grown hydroponic lettuce type behind the butterhead. Because of these reasons it is difficult to give the exact spacing of lettuce. Boston lettuce has a head shaped like a rose flower. Instead of a generic looking and tasting salad, you can make something interesting to eat and look at. Diseases of lettuce giiy weston bohn american gardeners grow several types of lettucethe loose leaf varieties, cos or romaine, butterhead, and iceberg. Lets take a look at the different types of lettuce and some excellent varieties in each category. Leafy varieties become ready for transplanting within 5060 da t.
Romaine and butterhead lettuce can be harvested in about 60 to 70 days from planting. Most lettuce varieties are eaten fresh and are commonly served as the base of green salads. An overview of lettuce production systems and cultivars. Iceberg crisphead varieties take longer and should be harvested as soon as a head develops but before outer leaves turn brown. Harvest these varieties either whole or by the leaf as they mature. Butter lettuce has a tender texture and large, cupped leaves that work beautifully in salads, especially with delicately flavored dressings such as buttermilk dill. Pdf growth, yield, and mineral content of butterhead lettuce. All butterhead lettuces are extremely tender, with smooth, looselycoiled leaves. How to grow hydroponic lettuces a beginners guide green. Butter lettuce, along with its sister varieties, has tender leaves and a very mild, slightly sweet flavor.
Some varieties develop a closed head, others are more open. Hydroponic lettuce production budgets from the ohio state university were modified in 2016 to reflect kentucky production scenarios. The unique textures and colors of our butterhead lettuce varieties are highly prized by gourmet cooks. Cutting into the lettuce reveals a soft, folded, and blanched heart. Comprehensive brochures can also be viewed or downloaded in pdf format using the links next to each variety, where available. Elisa produces high quality heads with medium to dark green, thick. A sweet or bitter smell means sweet or bitter flavor.
One of the more delicate varieties of lettuce, butterhead is creamy to light green on the inside and loose, soft and ruffled green on the exterior. Plant at weekly intervals starting in early april and again mid august. Grow heirloom lettuce plant buttercrunch lettuce seeds1963 allamerica selections winner. Leaf lettuce loose leaf lettuce does not form a head, but stays separately attached at the root. Butter, or butterhead, lettuce form loose heads of melt in your mouth leaves, hence the name butter. Butterhead lettuces can be planted closer together than other varieties because the heads are smaller. The lettuce, in the aerogarden, does not grow out like the pictures i guess due to the pods imposing some limitation, but the leaves got very big, very fast. The butterhead varieties are generally small, semiheading types that have tender. Hydroponic lettuce nutrients best fertilizer for your leafy. Butterhead buttercrunch lettuce seeds certified organic. Plant in the spring or fall when temperatures are still cool lettuce bolts in warm temperatures.
Lettuce production in the eastern region lettuce needs for relative cool growing season the optimum temperature for germination is from 16 to 20. One important factor in choosing which crop to grow is the climate where you live. With 5 distinct types of lettuce, youre sure to find a few for you. Types and varieties there are four major categories of lettuce. A full head of leaves with the central ones tightly packed. Boston lettuce is a wellrenowned butterhead type, featuring soft and smooth, lightgreen leaves and big heads. Here are some popular hydroponic lettuce varieties. This high performance variety has been a standard for butterhead lettuces for many years. Most heads required extensive trimming to remove leaves that had even slight defects, and so the percent of weight retained after trimming is an indication of head quality. If you struggle to grow crops, you should get along well with growing lettuce.
A thick edible stem, 6 to 8 inches long, distinguishes stem lettuce from other types. Common butter lettuce varieties are bibb butterhead, little gem butterhead, and buttercrunch. Check out kitazawas bulk quantity pricing on united states provided seed varieties. Lettuce seeds speciality commercial vegetable seed. Elisa is a fast growing butter head lettuce that matures within 65 to 75 days from transplant. Butter head or boston lettuce tends to form smaller, less firm heads, with soft, waxy leaves. The two bestknown varieties of butter lettuce in the us are bibb and boston lettuce. Lettuce is a fairly hardy, coolweather vegetable thats loved for its variety of textures, flavors, and colors. Jack ice, oscarde, reine des glaces, anuenue, loma, magenta, nevada and roger, all of which mature within 5560 days. Apr 16, 2020 lettuce, lactuca sativa, annual leaf vegetable of the aster family asteraceae. Most of the commercial acreage of lettuce is in the southwestern states, where lettuce, most of it the iceberg type, is grown the year around and. Harvest about half of the topsetting onions for green onions before the plants get too big. Butterhead definition of butterhead by merriamwebster.
Lettuce spacing depends very much on the hydroponic system used, type of lettuce grown, variety as well as the specific climatic conditions. Buttercrunch can be planted just about anywhere, but the good news for those in warmer climates is that this variety tends to be far more heattolerant than most. Start harvesting a few of the small leaves on your early planted lettuce. Batavian, butterhead, iceberg, loose leaf, and romaine. Lettuce, lactuca sativa, annual leaf vegetable of the aster family asteraceae. Butterhead lettuce is generally grown to fullsize heads and receives its name from the sweet buttery flavor and delicate texture of the large, ruffled outer leaves. How to grow butterhead lettuce guide to growing butterhead. The aptly named buttercrunch, or butter crunch lettuce, is a classic butterhead lettuce variety that produces a dynamic and delicious taste. The most wellknown head type of lettuce is iceberg, but butterhead, also. And its slightly more expensive than your average romaine. In the garden, the small heads are loosely folded and range in color from pale green to purplered.
Butter lettuce also called boston and bibb lettuce, goodquality butter lettuce will have fairly large, loose heads with thick leaves and even green coloring. Thin iceberg and romaine lettuce to one plant every 1012, other types 810 for fullsize heads. Great colour, taste and texture and as the name suggests, this variety can be grown from spring to late summer even earlier and later if cloche protection is available. If seed stalks appear, pick the lettuce immediately and store in the refrigerator to prevent bitterness.
Buttercrunch is also bolt resistant and will withstand a little more heat than many other lettuce varieties. Hilary dahl, good housekeeping, 4 essential tips for planning your fall gardenand 5 veggies you can still plant in august, 3 aug. Crisphead, also known as iceberg, is the lettuce most widely available as a fresh market type. Versatile and fast growing, lettuce can be harvested at most any stage, is delicious raw or cooked, and in warmer climates can be grown yearround. Lettuce vegetable seeds shop baker creek heirloom seeds.
Buttercrunch butterhead lettuce products vegetables. Lettuce production university of california, davis. Start more heat tolerant lettuce seeds indoors like butter head and romaine varieties. Far from the shrinkwrapped iceberg lettuce we all know so wellperfectly round and crunchy, almost all water, and able to last a long time after harvestthe multitude of lettuce varieties available at the grocery store and farmers markets offer a wide range of textures, colors, and flavors. Lettuce varieties learn about the different types of lettuce. Head lettuce is the most important salad vegetable grown in the united states. Pdf effect of harvesting date on yield and quality of lettuce. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps. Here are a few steps to help you along in the process. Other lettuce varieties are mesclun mixes and loosehead types, such as the butterhead varieties. Nearly all commercially produced leaf lettuce in the united. Leaf lettuce is grown in the coastal areas of salinas. Certain crisp head varieties will produce smaller prepack heads whereby other varieties can produce verylarge heads.
Dont look for a head on them because the leaves branch from a single stalk. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Both have a specific buttery texture that leaves a particular sweetness in the mouth. It is a crisphead lettuce, meaning its leaves form a compact head as it growsalthough its head is much less compact than iceberg lettuce. Lettuce lactuca sativa is an annual plant of the daisy family, asteraceae. Cultivated lettuce varieties vegetables can be grouped into the following growth types. Butterhead lettuce seeds boston lettuce johnnys selected. Gardeners can choose looseleaf varieties that do not form heads or grow iceberg lettuces that form a head of tightly overlapping leaves. An overview of lettuce production systems and cultivars used in hydroponics and protected culture in florida 4 looseleaf, leaf, or cutting. Each type has varying growing needs and characteristics. Cover seed lightly, about 18, and firm soil gently. A new lettuce variety was introduced in 1941 with the release of great lakes, the first true iceberg type, larger and firmer than the crispheads developed earlier in europe. Also, both varieties produce compact plants that can be harvested leaf by leaf or as an entire head. The main ingredient in caesar salads, romaine has a crisp texture and a strong, but not bitter, taste.
Jose agriculturist ii bpinational crop research and. It has a tightly compacted head with crisp, lightgreen leaves. The category of leaf lettuce includes many subcategories, such as oakleaf, lollo, multileaf, summer crisp. Pdf to improve greenhouse lettuce yield and quality and avoid. Lettuce is an ideal crop for beginner growers and seed savers alike. There are many old varieties still available although in the 1950s the butterhead lettuce and to some degree the cos was overshadowed almost completely by the ubiquitous iceberg type lettuces. Crisphead has a large solid head similar to a cabbage. Head type varieties are harvested when they attain good size and become solid leaf should be harvested when leaves are. The heads of butter lettuce will usually be fairly large, be uniformly green, and have loose, thick leaves. It is widely grown in china, and is also known as chinese lettuce. Cos, or romaine lettuce forms a more upright, loose head.
Plants we re ha rvested 100, 107 and 114 days after tran splanting. Recent examples on the web head lettuce types like romaine and butterhead perform best when transplanted. Lettuce, no matter the variety, is considered a coolweather crop. Butter lettuce originates from a very old variety of lettuce called silesia, which dates back to 1744. Most lettuce varieties mature within 30 to 60 days, with leaf lettuces maturing earlier than head types. Butterhead or boston lettuce tends to form smaller, less firm heads, with soft, waxy leaves. One problem is the stalk also grew tall quickly, so i had to prop them up using string, tied to top of aerogarden hood and then tied to the stalk. There are five distinct types of lettuce leaf also known as loose leaf, cos or romaine, crisphead, butterhead and stem also called asparagus lettuce or celtuce. An overview of lettuce production systems and cultivars used. We offer many varieties, including bibb and butter lettuce, which are tasty and look lovely. This equates to over 12 billion pounds of leaf lettuce each year.
The bulk seed prices are for nongmo and untreated seed. Among the more recognizable and heavily consumed of these are the romaine, or cos, and the iceburg, or crisphead, varietals. Head lettuce varieties are planted according to market demand and according to the historical success of. Production system and harvesting stage influence on. Bibb lettuce, or limestone, has a smaller, more cuplike head. Last but not least is one of the easiest types of lettuce to grow the looseleaf varieties of lettuce, which form no head or heart. Leaf lettuce comes in red, green, and oak varieties. Crisphead crisphead lettuce also is commonly referred to as iceberg lettuce. Below are product guides for each of starke ayres lettuce seeds speciality varieties. Seeds germinate even at low, 40f 4c, soil temperature, but poorly above 75f 24c depending on the variety and seed lot. Some types and varieties of lettuce withstand heat better than others.
1034 1454 597 771 1306 217 111 40 406 1098 1054 385 1181 831 1120 102 597 869 579 543 743 212 978 1340 832 844 364 1221 645 659 562 459 1219 1293 520 1384 1056