Lettuce

lettuce plants

Lettuce is a cool-weather crop that is fairly cold-tolerant. However, the thin, fragile nature of the leaves makes them susceptible to freezes and drought. Lettuce is best grown as a spring or fall crop. There are several different types of lettuce. Para información en español, visite este sitio web.

  • Leaf type. On leaf types of lettuce, leaves are loosely arranged. Leaf lettuce matures rapidly and is the most reliable type to grow in Kansas, especially from seed. Many leaf lettuce types are more heat-tolerant than other types. In addition to more traditional leaf shapes, this group also encompasses oakleaf and lolla types. Oakleaf lettuces have heavily lobed leaves that look much like an oak leaf. Lolla lettuces have highly curled or frilled edges, making them high-yielding and attractive.
  • Romaine or cos. This lettuce forms a loose, upright head with thick midribs and stronger-flavored, crisp leaves. Most romaine lettuces take longer to reach maturity than leaf lettuces, and many have better bolt resistance than other types.
  • Butterhead or Bibb. This succulent lettuce is characterized by tender, rounded leaves that form a loose or soft head. The center of the heads often develops a light yellow, buttery appearance. It takes longer to grow than leaf lettuce.
  • Head or crisphead. Head lettuce takes nearly twice as long as leaf lettuce to develop. It is most reliably grown using transplants, and the fall season is the best time to grow head lettuce in Kansas.
  • Summer crisp or Batavian. These lettuces are a type of crisphead, with thick, crisp leaves, but have been developed to have more heat-tolerance than other lettuces. They do not develop firm heads but are typically harvested as looseleaf or soft heads. Some of these types also germinate better in hot weather than other varieties.