Adventures in Lettuce

This year I’m having great results with a butterhead lettuce—Ruby & Emerald Duet—from Renee’s Garden (http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/packpg/veg/lettuce-rubyemerald.htm). I’m not sure if success is due to the seeds, the late rains we’ve enjoyed in the San Francisco Bay Area this year, or the perfect combination of cool days peppered with three-day “hot spells.” As the name suggests, the seed packet includes seeds for both red and green lettuces.

Butterhead lettuce (Lactuca sativa) after outer leaves are harvested

Harvested leaves, washed and ready to eat

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I’m already harvesting from the largest head of lettuce, which is container grown. To harvest, I carefully cut the outer leaves I need for my salad, leaving the inner core. Within several days, more leaves have grown! This is much different than the commercial method, which is to harvest the whole head. I’m looking forward to finding out how long a single head of lettuce can produce.

Transplanted lettuce sprouts in the raised bed

Transplanted lettuce sprouts in contaners

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I transplanted quite a few lettuce sprouts to containers following instructions on the packet (three heads in an eight-inch pot, or five inches apart). I also transplanted sprouts in the raised bed – interspersing them among the tomato plants. This follows the permaculture model, where you plant in laysers instead of rows. If all goes well, we should have salad for ourselves, and friends, for several months to come!