Growing Lettuce

I believe that assembling a delicious salad is a form of art.  I love ordering salad at a restaurant but rarely make salad at home.  Even after I grew a few of my own heads of lettuce, I still was reluctant to use them for a salad (rather I used them in sandwiches and veggie burgers).  The great thing about growing lettuce is that any container will do.  I have grown lettuce successfully in smallish terra cotta planters. 

A Bit of History

For those of you interested in history, this section is for you.  People have been eating these leafy greens for a very long time.  It is thought to originate from the Mediterranean area.  Some sources claim that Ancient Egyptians ate lettuce and the oil from lettuce seeds.  Lettuce is thought to have been served to Persian Kings in the 6th Century; additionally Greeks ate lettuce in the 5th and 4th Centuries.  The Chinese were eating lettuce by the 5th Century and possibly earlier. Columbus is thought to have brought lettuce over to the New World. 

Iceberg lettuce was originally called “Crisphead” in the US and held that name until the 1920’s when the lettuce was buried in ice during transportation from California to other states.

Latin name is Lactuca Sativa.  Culitivated lettuce is closely related to wild lettuce L. Scariola. Because lettuce went bad so quickly, scientists in the U.S. developed the Imperial strain of lettuce.  It is mildew resistant and resists other diseases.  Today, most of the lettuce grown in the Southwestern US are of the Imperial-type strain. 

Growing Lettuce

As I mentioned before growing lettuce is a cinch.  It needs a slightly cool climate because hot weather will cause the lettuce to bolt and seed too soon.  As with what happened to Jen’s lettuce, the stem grows tall and the lettuce leaves get all bitter, a seed stalk. 

I bought a packet of seeds from Burpee last year.  It was a mixed greens packet.  I planted the seeds in a random plastic container.  They grew very nicely! I would suggest growing lettuce for anybody interested.  Just remember to do your growing in the spring and fall because the summer is just too hot for them.

If you are thinking of growing lettuce, check out this page from Marthastewart.com.

Jen, if want to know how to harvest the seeds off of your lettuce, check this link out.  It seems pretty simple!