Traditional lettuce varieties usually have delicate, appetizing shiny leaves with a pleasant buttery flavor. That is why they have long been called butter lettuce. However, after harvesting, the heads of these varieties wilt very quickly, unlike the looser heads of leaf lettuce, which consist of strong and hard, often curly leaves.
This treatment does not have any special significance in the garden, as the path from the bed to the kitchen is short and the lettuce will not lose freshness or even too much vitamins before cooking. The cultivation of head lettuce has a long tradition. Some varieties were sold in European greengrocers more than 100 years ago. Butter lettuce seeds of 'Merveille des quatre Saisons' ('Miracle of the Four Seasons') were sold by a French trader for the first time in 1880.
For many years, the breeding of new varieties was carried out under the sign of increasing the resistance to mildew infection and meeting the growing demand of trade. The result was an "all-weather lettuce" with strong, leathery leaves.
Meanwhile, fortunately, not only in ecological gardening, it was remembered that lettuce leaves should also be tender and tasty.We pre-run early varieties, such as 'Rolando', in a bright place with a temperature of no more than 18 ° C. In warmer environments, seeds germinate very little or not at all. We cover them with a thin layer of fine-grained soil, because they need light to germinate.
Head lettuces for spring, summer and autumn
1. 'Rolando' is one of the tastiest butter salads. It is also resistant to mildew.
2. 'Brune d'hiver' is suitable for sowing from March to June. Green-red leaves do not like aphids.
3. 'Forellenschluss' is a little-known variety. Its advantage is the red spots on the leaves of various sizes.
4. 'Cindy' creates compact, hard heads of dark green leaves with a slightly nutty flavor.
5. 'Wunder von Stuttgart' is a long-known form with delicate yellow-green leaves and large heads.
6. The 'Merveille des quatre Saisons' with red-brown leaves forms compact heads in spring and autumn.
From the end of March, we can sow the seeds directly on the bed. The distance between the rows should be 25-30 cm.Good conditions for the development of lettuce are clay, humus, slightly limestone soil.Spring varieties form rather smaller heads, therefore a 25-cm spacing in the row is sufficient.
Summer lettuces need a little more space. For summer cultivation, you should choose varieties that endure heat well and are reluctant to put forth flower shoots. It takes 8-14 weeks from sowing to harvest.In the main period of lettuce development, regular, even watering should be ensured.A nutrient deficiency is indicated by stiff, hard leaves. As a rule, plants only need to enrich the soil with compost before planting.
Lettuce shoots at flower shoots
Head lettuce Lactuca sativa var. capitata is an annual plant. Its entire development cycle, from germination to seed production, takes several months.After sowing the seeds and planting the seedlings, a rosette of densely arranged leaves develops.Most buttered head lettuces are long-day varieties. They easily release flower shoots when the day length exceeds 12 hours.
Cut the heads for consumption, before flower shoots appear in their center. If you want seeds, leave the prettiest lettuces in the bed, let them bloom and then tie the seeds.
In June and July, the middle shoot grows to a height of about 50 cm and branches to give off several very long inflorescence shoots with tiny pale yellow flowers.Numerous seeds ripen between July and August. If we don't watch out, the wind will blow them around. Spread the previously collected ones in an airy place so that they are completely dry.
