My favorite lettuce

I know that lettuce is probably a favorite for many of you. Not very surprising of course considering how good and refreshing lettuce can be.

Närbild på sallaten Little Gem med små, krispiga avlånga salladshuvuden.

This is Little Gem, such a crispy and beautiful salad.

 

Do you know what I long for the most in the beginning of the year? Newly harvested lettuce! I start dreaming about next year’s harvest already when we’re still munching on the leaves from last year.

Home-grown lettuce is insanely good. It’s like green, crispy candy. My children grow several different varieties in their own garden beds just for fun. And I’m so happy to have a long life of growing vegetables in front of me where I can explore as many different varieties as I can.

My favorite lettuce is...

 

 

There’s a whole pallet collar with tiny Little Gem and its red sister Intred in my polytunnel, hopefully surviving the cold weather. If they do then I’ll be able to harvest them early next spring.

 

Many choices

I’ve written several posts about how I grow my lettuce and which varieties I like best. My choices vary depending on the season and I always consider the inherent qualities of each type. Which ones can live through colder temperatures? Which ones thrive in heat? Some of them might grow very quickly and others take more time. I have a few tips in this post: Growing lettuce: which lettuce should you pick?

The seed bags contain a large number of seeds and it can seem unnecessary to buy several different kinds. But I think that the variation is so important for us who eat a lot of vegetables from our own gardens. I harvest lettuce from March until December. So of course I won’t want to eat the same kind of lettuce every day!   

Check out my YouTube channel for more lettuce inspiration:
Overwintering lettuce in the poly tunnel
Lettuce from winter sowings
Lamb’s lettuce – Hardy leaves for winter gardens

 

Red varieties

I think I’ll grow more red lettuce next year. I’ve noticed that snails generally avoid my red vegetables and plants. Growing more red lettuce might keep them at bay. They enjoyed my green lettuce just a little bit too much last year… Unfortunately, one of my children refuses to eat red lettuce. I hope he changes his mind until next year!

Do you have a favorite type of lettuce?
/Sara Bäckmo

 

13. October 2021

2 responses to “My favorite lettuce”

  1. Jill says:

    Buttercrunch has been my favorite for years now. However, this year I'm trying Little Gem, Optima, Grosse Blonde Paresseuse (Lazy Blonde), Winter Density, Tennis Ball, and Merveille des Quatre Saisons. I will be busy. The best lettuce I've ever had was lettuce I overwintered with a simple wood frame with plastic stapled to it. Several times during the winter the plants seemed to be dead but then in late winter/very early spring they came back to life and put on a tremendous amount of growth. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in the garden.

    • Sara Bäckmo says:

      I agree, it is really amazing to see how much power a plant can have. I am constantly surprised in my garden! I grow a few of the varieties you have as well. Quatre Saisons is a beautiful one!

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