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Lettuces are cool weather cropsusually planted in early spring.
If you want to grow only baby lettuces, sow seeds four to five weeks before final frost.
If choosing one of these methods, plant seeds six to seven weeks before the first frost.
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Others may require up to 100 days.
For successfulautumnand early winter harvests keep in mind the following key factors.
Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuces feature tall, elongated leaves with sturdy center ribs.
Outer leaves are dark green with lighter inner leaves that have crisp texture and earthy to slightly bitter flavor.
Romaine is ready to harvest in about 65 days.
Butterhead Lettuce
Butterhead lettuces feature large, buttery soft leaves formed in loose heads.
They have a tender texture and mild, sweet flavor.
Butterhead lettuces mature in 50 to 60 days.
Looseleaf Lettuces
Looseleaf lettuces are sometimes described as ‘cut and come again.’
Leaves grow from a central stem and may be green or red with ruffled tops and crisp stems.
The texture is crunchy with a mild, sweet flavor.
Leaves are harvested individually as they mature starting in four to six weeks.
Crisphead Lettuces
Crisphead lettuces form tight, rounded heads of light green, overlapping leaves.
The texture is crunchy with a neutral, mild, slightly sweet flavor.
This pop in requires the longest growing time of up to 100 days to reach harvest maturity.
All lettuce leaves, though, turn soggy and lose shape when exposed to freezing temperatures.
Season extenders like cold frames, greenhouses, and high tunnels are ideal places to grow winter lettuce crops.
Avoid placing covers directly on top of plants which can trap moisture and damage leaves.
