Lettuce
Contrary to what summer salads may suggest, lettuce is in fact a cool-season crop that does best in spring, late summer, and autumn. High heat causes lettuce to bolt and run to seed. To slow summer lettuce from bolting, plant bolt-resistant varieties in light shade in mid-summer. In all other seasons, lettuce should be planted in full sun.
Thermal dormancy can be an issue where lettuce does not germinate in soil temperatures above 15°C. If planting in the very hot months (Nov-Feb), then chill seed in the fridge for a few days to break dormancy. Lettuce also needs to be shallowly sown as it requires light to germinate. All of these points can make it difficult for the novice to sow successfully every time.
Lettuce will germinate in temperatures as low as 5°C, so don’t be scared to sow directly outside early in the season. If in doubt about keeping direct-sown seed moist, cover with a thin hessian cloth for the first 5 days.
Lettuce enjoys high levels of soil fertility. Although best started off in seedling trays, lettuce can be direct-seeded and thinned in the beds.
All Year Round Lettuce
Lactuca sativa A great heading butter lettuce that can literally be planted all year round. In co..
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Arianna
Lactuca sativa An extremely attractive French heirloom with bright green leaves. Bolt and tip-bu..
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Black Seeded Simpson
Lactuca sativa A stunning loose-leaf heirloom introduced by Peter Henderson & Co. in the 1870..
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Blonde de Paris
Lactuca sativa Batavian heading lettuce. Good yields of crisp, light coloured heads. Does requi..
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Blushed Butter Cos
Lactuca sativaA beautifully coloured, savoyed, and dense cos lettuce. The frost-hardy leaves are gre..
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Blushed Butter Oak
Lactuca sativaA beautiful coloured loosely packed lettuce which is cold hardy. The tender leaves are..
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Butter King
Lactuca sativaThis is a real winner in South Africa. Growing lettuce is tough here as it doesn't tol..
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Buttercrunch
Lactuca sativa Developed at Cornell University in the early 1960s, this variety has since become ..
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Capitaine
Lactuca sativaA superb butterhead variety that produces large, compact, bright green heads with sli..
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Chinese Sword
Lactuca sativaAlso known as Taiwan sword leaf lettuce, pointed leaf lettuce, and Oriental lettuce. T..
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Cimmaron
Lactuca sativa An absolute favourite! This 18th-century heirloom is a Romaine-type lettuce that p..
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Dark Green Cos
Lactuca sativaDeep green, slightly crinkled leaves form an upright loose head of lettuce. These leav..
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Deer Tongue Really Red
Lactuca sativaA stunning heirloom boasting ruby-red, slightly pointed leaves with contrasting thick ..
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Freckles
Lactuca sativaA late 18th-century heirloom Romaine-type lettuce from Austria and Southern Germany. I..
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Gabriella
Lactuca sativaA beautiful, deep wine red-coloured loose-leaf type. The leaves are frilly and wrinkle..
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Gourmet Lettuce Mix
Lactuca sativa This gourmet mix is made up of a variety of loose-leaf and heading varieties that ..
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Great Lakes
Lactuca sativa Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find a good heading lettuce. Great Lakes was..
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Iceberg
Lactuca sativa Introduced in 1895, Iceberg set the original standard for crisphead lettuce. While..
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Iya Sol
Lactuca sativaA beautiful, frilly loose-leaf Romaine lettuce. Stunning red leaves grow straight up a..
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Jericho
Lactuca sativaAn open-pollinated cos-type variety developed in Israel, Jericho lettuce produces very..
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