Your Favorite Lettuce

[greenthumbomaha]

Now that we are getting ready for growing fantastic tomatoes what are your favorite lettuces for a salad ?

Leaf lettuce does better as summer can sneak up on you before head lettuce is ready. Black Seeded Simpson is one commonly grown here.

- Lisa

[Worth1]

I like any of the butter head lettuces along with the Boston types and Romain lettuce.
Worth

[jmsieglaff]

We grow a lot of buttercrunch and bronze arrowhead (aka bronze beauty). Both are tasty and prolific.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

Now that we are getting ready for growing fantastic tomatoes what are your favorite lettuces for a salad ?

Leaf lettuce does better as summer can sneak up on you before head lettuce is ready. Black Seeded Simpson is one commonly grown here.

- Lisa

My favorite is butter head. . I have grown it few times.
it is similar to Boston Lettuce I like them tender with color. I always throw away the center vein and just use the tender pat. The I slice tomatoes and cukes very thin, to match the texture.

My least favorite is head lettuce. I have never bought one myself. It has no flavor.

Gardeneer

[Cole_Robbie]

I like a green leaf variety called Green Ice.

[jmsieglaff]

Cole Robbie, if this does well for you in IL I should try it in southern WI. How deep into summer do you grow it and how does the flavor hold up?

[AlittleSalt]

We bought some called, Black Seeded Simpson, Slo Bolt, and Little Gem. It looks like enough seed to plant half the county. I like just about any lettuce. With infused oil / vinaigrettes, dry, or several of the popular bottle ones. Did you know French dressing is made with tomatoes as a major ingredient?

[Father'sDaughter]

Lollo Bionda and Sweetie Baby are my two favorites.

[Fusion_power]

Les Orielles de diables
Forellenschluss
Nevada
Jericho
Outredgous

take a look at wildgardenseeds for some good ideas. http://www.wildgardenseed.com/

[Farmette]

This last year I grew Pirat, a butterhead from High Mowing Seeds. It did very well here in southeastern Wisconsin...delicious, absolutely beautiful, picture perfect. I also grow Winter Density, a Romaine as well as some lettuce.mixes

[habitat_gardener]

I really like Tokyo Bekana. It's not a lettuce, but rather a type of chinese cabbage. It grows fast and has a really mild flavor-- you wouldn't guess it wasn't lettuce. I pick a whole bunch, wash and spin it, then we chop and eat it all week. Keeps well.

Sample Seed Shop sells it.

[KarenO]

I love interesting heirloom lettuces, merlot and Lolita are two beauties I got from Tatianas. Cimmaron is a great heirloom red cos or romaine lettuce, easy to grow. Oak leaf varieties are slow to bolt and interesting. Have a look at Tatianas selection of heirloom lettuces. Just beautiful. I really love unusual varieties and my lettuces are some of the most commented on things I grow in my community plot.
Karen O

[loulac]

I’m quite disappointed by the different kinds of lettuce that can be bought in supermarkets. They can be as big as cabbages but tasteless and can be kept only 2 or 3 days before rotting. I only grow traditional varieties that have a nice taste in the mouth when you chew a leaf. You can keep them in the fridge for a week. When I read the posts of this thread I’m relieved to see I’m not the only one to trust old varieties.

[taboule]

Paris White (a Romaine) and Sylvia (red leaf)

[PhilaGardener]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

take a look at wildgardenseeds for some good ideas. http://www.wildgardenseed.com/

+1 Frank Morton, the owner of Wild Garden Seed, is a super talented breeder of lettuces and many other things. He lists 100 lettuce varieties, and offers some really great seed mixes from works in progress.