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Cut-and-Come-Again Lettuce Sampler
comments (11) November 11th, 2009
When I had a market garden, I grew 200-foot rows of lettuce. The rows contained my own mixture of lettuce varieties, chosen for taste, color, and leaf shape, and I cut the leaves young for the mesclun mix I sold to local chefs. Twice a week my two young assistants and I knelt in the white clover pathways to shear the baby plants.
Most of the dozen or so lettuce varieties were the type described as cutting lettuces, which obligingly and vigorously sprout a fresh crop of leaves when they are snipped off just a couple of inches above the ground. They are often called cut-and-come-again lettuces.
Cutting lettuces are mostly non-heading leaf varieties from two groups, Grand Rapids and oakleaf. The Grand Rapids group produces broad, crinkled, and frilly leaves, while the oakleaf varieties have flatter and distinctively lobed leaves. Both groups include red and green varieties and several red-green combinations. All make great garden design elements.
Paint the garden with lettuce
Whatever else I grow, I always have plenty of ‘Black Seeded Simpson’, an heirloom. I don’t bother with little packets; I buy it by the ounce, about 25,000 seeds. Properly stored, lettuce seed stays viable for three years. ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ is so reliable I use it as the standard for judging the germination success of other varieties. A fast grower, it produces crinkly, juicy, yellowish-green leaves. Its only shortcoming is a tendency to bolt in summer heat; it does best in spring and fall here on Long Island.
One of the best summer performers I have found is a romaine: a French cos, ‘Craquerelle du Midi’. When every other lettuce in my garden is getting bitter or defiantly announcing its plans to set seed, this one stays mild and leafy.
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'Black Seeded Simpson' | 'Oakleaf' |
The red or green lobed leaves of the oakleaf types are pillars of the looseleaf establishment. There are at least half-a-dozen varieties of each color commonly found in seed catalogs. ‘Oakleaf’ is the original old standby that yields crisp, tender, light green leaves and keeps going through moderate heat. Although it has deeply lobed leaves, ‘Salad Bowl’ is not a true oakleaf. But it is an All-America Selections winner that produces rosettes of delicate lime-green leaves and also has good heat tolerance.
Tops for reliability, even through a hot summer, is ‘Red Sails’. Another All-America Selections winner, it’s a fast grower with green and reddish-bronze leaves.
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'Salad Bowl' | 'Red Sails' |
A 1998 introduction that did well for me was ‘Green Vision’, which produces dark-green, glossy, savoyed leaves; it is a slow bolter. ‘Lollo Rossa’ has light-green leaves with elegant rosy margins, while its cousin, ‘Lollo Biondo’, is pure pale-green. Both ‘Lollo’ cultivars are deeply curled and heat tolerant, and very decorative both in the garden and in salads.
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'Lollo Rossa' | 'Lollo Biondo' |
Stepping beyond the looseleaf varieties, there are some butterheads and romaines I like to grow as cutting lettuces. They will also sprout new leaves, if less energetically than the looseleaf varieties.
Of the butterheads, ‘Ermosa’ has dark green leaves and stands up to a fair amount of summer heat. In a weak pre-spring moment I ordered seed for a romaine called ‘Freckles’ or ‘Trout Back’, simply because I liked its name. I wish all my weak moments worked out this well. It is a beautiful lettuce, lime-green flecked with wine-red markings, and has a fresh, delicate taste.
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'Ermosa' | 'Freckles' |
posted in: Lettuce
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Comments (11)
Posted: 4:04 pm on May 29th
Posted: 7:46 pm on May 25th
Posted: 9:45 am on May 7th
Posted: 6:46 pm on July 17th
Posted: 12:09 pm on May 30th
Posted: 8:07 am on May 3rd
Here in zone 6, I let a couple of my lettuce plants go to seed right in the garden. They will self-sow and come back up the next year, with no work from me. Less work is always a good thing!
Thanks for the article.
Tina Elliott
www.billyjoesfoodfarm.com
https://www.facebook.com/BillyJoesFoodFarm
Posted: 12:45 pm on February 26th
Posted: 9:53 am on January 29th
Otherwise, this is a very complete article about growing lettuces. The photos of the different varieties are great too.
I've also used lettuce as an edger in my perennial garden. You have lovely choices of yellow green, green,red and red greem combos to pick from.
Posted: 8:55 am on April 14th
Posted: 2:55 pm on March 26th
Posted: 12:39 am on March 14th
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