There is no use in denying, it so let’s just face it: the world needs lettuce. It’s not the tastiest vegetable, and usually can’t be eaten on its own (hello dressing!). In addition, this vegetable isn’t placing high on people’s “favourite vegetables” lists. Lettuce is low in nutrients, and has very low calorie, carb, vitamin, and mineral levels. So why would anyone make growing lettuce a priority in their lives?
For one thing, it’s the main ingredient in delicious salads. In fact, if you think about traditional salad, lettuce is really the only must-have ingredient. Everything else is merely a garnish to add on afterwards. Why? Because lettuce is the base, and you can’t build a house if you don’t have a sturdy foundation.
Recently, due to its low calorie count and multiple varieties, lettuce has made a huge revolution in dieting trends. People use lettuce leaves as a replacement for flatbread and spring roll wrappers. This is great for low-carb and gluten-free diets, and just for better dietary health overall. One of lettuce’s greatest attributes, however, is how easy they are to grow. If you’re a salad lover, here is a guide to growing lettuce in your own backyard. We have 10 great varieties ranging from iceberg to loose leaf, for every purpose and preference out there.
1. Ithaca Iceberg Lettuce
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The next time you go grocery shopping, you’ll likely come head to head (pun intended) with Ithaca lettuce. A type of Iceberg lettuce, it’s commonly identified by its huge, overlapping, leaves. They fold in on each other so tightly that they need to be peeled back one by one. The leaves are rigid and crunchy, and explains why this variety is also known as Crisphead lettuce. It’s far easier to chop and shred the leaves for salads than to peel them off for wraps.
Since Iceberg lettuce has such a firm head, this makes it ideal in gardens where pests are an issue. This is because insects won’t get very far through the hard, dense leaves. When it’ time to harvest the lettuce head, all you’ll need to do is remove the outer, damaged layers. Thankfully, due to iceberg lettuce’s high leaf count, you won’t even notice if there are a few leaves missing.
2. Nevada Summer Crisp Lettuce
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Nevada Lettuce is a favourite among gardeners, as this variety is highly resistant to heat and sun damage. It’s a variety of the Summer Crisp lettuce, family also known as French Crisp and Bavarian Crisp. This variety has characteristic heavy heads because of its thick, moderately loose leaves, which have a mild flavor and smooth, pleasant texture.
Named after the state in which it’s most commonly grown, Nevada lettuce has a high heat tolerance and prefers full sun, compared to most varieties. This tolerance makes it ideal for warmer climates. It prefers well-drained soil, and does well with lower water levels.
3. Tom Thumb Butterhead Lettuce
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This lettuce variety is so named thanks to its short stature. Being so compact, it’s extremely popular for small spaces, like container and window box gardens. Tom Thumb is a type of Butterhead lettuce, which has a characteristic round shape and pliant leaves.
It has a low maturity rate of about 55 days, and is very easy to grow both indoors and outdoors. It can tolerate both sparse and close spacing environments, in soil types that range from premium to poor. Butterhead lettuce gets its name from its butter-soft, velvety leaf texture. More popular members of the Butterhead family include Boston and Bibb types.
Here’s a tip: if you have herbivore pets like rabbits or degus, try growing lettuce like one this for them to enjoy. They love it.
4. Parris Island Romaine Lettuce
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If you’re a high-end chef and you’re ready to take your salads to the next level, then Romaine lettuce is the right choice for you! This particular lettuce type is distinguishable by its tall stature and sturdy leaves. These attributes make the Parris Island lettuce a favorite: its long leaves have an amazing flavor and memorable texture.
Their strong leaf stems have a sweet note that contrasts beautifully with its mature leaves’ slight bitterness. Some chefs prefer to harvest the heads before full maturity, in order to preserve the baby leaves’ sweetness. As an added bonus, the Parris Island variety has a low maturity rate, averaging out to about only 50 days.
5. Coastline Summer Crisp Lettuce
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Another member of the Summer Crisp family, Coastline lettuce is easily identifiable by its long, firm stem and light green frilled leaves.This lettuce variety features a combination of all lettuce varieties’ best qualities. It has Iceberg lettuce’s crunch in its stem, Summer Crisp’s texture, and loose-leaf lettuce’s easy growing nature. With its dependable yields, Coastline is a favorite among gardeners who want to a predictable harvest and a stress-free growing adventure.
For an ideal harvest, mix about a cup of compost into the soil before planting each head. Water lightly, but frequently, and at the roots instead of over the leaves. Your lettuce will wilt if it dries out, so aim for about an inch of water a week. Too much water will rot the roots and encourage mold growth in the leaves.
6. Ice Green Loose-Leaf Lettuce
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These dark, emerald green leaves are fantastic for farmers who want to have a bountiful harvest. Loose-leaf lettuce has one of the highest germination rates among lettuce varieties! In addition, this variety of lettuce can be sown directly. This means that you can plant the seeds rather than buying pre-grown seedings. Considering how quickly they germinate, you can have a whole crop of lettuce heads in no time!
Loose-leaf lettuce is named for its sparsely separated leaves. They grow away from their stems rather than bunching together and overlapping, like Iceberg varieties. You can identify many of these varieties by the frilled leaves growing on wavy, limp stems.
7. Flashy Butter Oak Lettuce
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Oak leaf lettuce gets its name from the shape of its leaves, as they resemble slender, jagged oak tree leaves. Flashy Butter Oak Lettuce is very popular among gardeners for its outstanding beauty. Not only does this lettuce have its trademark oak-leaf shape, it’s forest green with gorgeous red speckles. Quite different from standard salad offerings!
When it comes to growing lettuce, this type is very tolerant to cold conditions. As such, it’s great for colder climates, and allows farmers from northern areas to grow it outside well into autumn. It also grows well in greenhouses, and in containers indoors.
8. New Red Fire Loose-Leaf Lettuce
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There’s no mistake about where this lettuce variety got its name from. New Red Fire Loose-Leaf lettuce has curly burgundy leaves—red as autumn flames. Besides being a favourite among chefs for its aesthetics, it’s also known for its high fibre amount. This adds extra punch to your salad, and allows you to feel full and satisfied after eating it.
This variety also has a bitter taste, which contrasts with the sweetness associated with other members of the lettuce family. It can also be referred to as Cutting, Leaf, or Bunching lettuce.
9. Summer Bibb Butterhead Lettuce
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Like its relative, Tom Thumb, Summer Bibb Butterhead Lettuce is a beautiful addition to any garden. This variety will grow in a number of different conditions, as long as the soil is kept moist and fertile. It also requires at least 18 inches of area around each individual plant.
This variety is medium in size and has a low bolt rate. If you’re not familiar with that term, “bolt rate” refers to how lettuce will start growing flowers instead of leaves. When a plant bolts early, it lowers the number of edible leaves that a head will produce. Butterhead lettuces prefer partial shade, and it’s best to harvest them while immature. This way, you can enjoy their soft leaves, instead of allowing them to toughen up as they mature.
10. Crispino Iceberg lettuce
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Crispono’s pale inner leaves gives this variety a mild and slightly sweet taste, making it the quintessential Iceberg variety to grow. Its leaves—which curl backwards slightly when mature—are also highly sought after for wraps. Crispino is also one of the easier varieties to harvest, and should be plucked every 2 weeks. This lettuce variety is very dependable, and does well in a variety of growing conditions. It’s as well suited to window boxes as it is to raised beds and open fields.
11. Corn Salad Mache Lettuce
Looking to get a little fancier with your salad-making skills? Then look no further than Corn Salad (also known as “Mache”). This lettuce variety has a unique growth type. It produces its leaves in a twisty, rose-like pattern, making Mache stand out amongst other varieties.
Although you can harvest it leaf by leaf, most prefer to do so once the head has fully matured.
Corn salad is extremely cold resistant, which will allow you to leave your lettuce ball to mature well into autumn. After 50 days, your Mache’s dark green, glossy leaves ready for the bowl. Water regularly, as this lettuce type prefers moist, damp conditions.
12. Frisee Endive Lettuce
Frisee endive lettuce is well known by gardeners, as it’s able to grow well in small, high places. This attribute makes this variety perfect for growing containers and hanging baskets. In fact, its curly, light green leaves make this plant as beautiful as it is delicious. Feel free to grow them as a stunning piece in your favourite flower planters!
You can choose to eat Frisee either as a baby leafy green, or as a full-grown salad base. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even add it to a smoothie. Baby leaves can be harvested after 35 days. Should you choose to let it mature, you can harvest a whole head after 65 days.
13. Celtuce Lettuce
It may look like it was grown on Mars, but this lettuce type from southern China is definitely an Earth species. Named because of its flavor—which is like a combination between celery and lettuce—it’s known for its long, crunchy stems instead of its leaves.
Celtuce matures after 75 days, when the stems have reached a whopping 2 feet in height. Its flavor is quite bitter though, making it more desirable in soups or seared in a stir-fry. If you’re aiming to incorporate it into your garden, you may find it listed as “asparagus lettuce” or “celery lettuce”.
14. Lau’s Pointed Leaf Romaine Lettuce
The average person might look at this lettuce and assume that it’s a weed, rather than a crop. That would be a shame, since Lau’s pointed leaf lettuce’s light green, tall, slender leaves are wonderful additions to any garden.
This lettuce variety originated in Malaysia, so it’s well suited for growing in hot climates. It has a quick, 30-day maturity rate, and can be picked and eaten as individual leaves. Its flavor has been described as sweet, and the leaves—despite looking weak because of their sparse heads—are quite firm and tender.
Lau’s lettuce can also be eaten after being lightly cooked, but shouldn’t be stored in the fridge for too long. The moisture and cold will reduce leaf sturdiness, and no-one likes to eat soggy, wilty lettuce.
15. Tennis Ball Bibb Lettuce
Game on! It’s evident to see where the Tennis Ball lettuce gets its name from! This variety’s light green heads fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. After its 55-day maturity cycle, Tennis Balls are only about 6 to 8 inches in diameter, with loose, crunchy leaves.
Their small stature allows them to grow perfectly in containers and they require very little care, allowing you to focus on other vegetables in your garden. They’re known to germinate well, and thrive in many different conditions ranging from moist to dry climates.
Growing Lettuce is Ideal for Novices
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Lettuce is one of the best vegetables for new gardeners. It’s easy to grow, dependable, and can be used in so many different ways. Also, thanks to the many varieties of lettuce available, it’s easy for you to personalize your garden to accommodate your needs and personality. With tastes ranging from bitter to sweet, you will always find the perfect addition to satisfy your taste buds. We’ve just mentioned a few in this article: there are hundreds of varieties to explore, so you can determine which you like best.
From sizes ranging from big to small, you will always find space for lettuce in your garden. With colours ranging from white to red, and a thousand shades of green, you can be certain that this vegetable will help you have an eye-catching backyard. Finally, with conditions ranging from heat preferring to cold tolerating, you can have your fresh lettuce any time, no matter which zone you’re growing in.
After reading this, are you craving a salad yet? Good.
Happy growing!
