Growing Organic Buttercrunch Lettuce Garden Seeds
- Latin Name: Lactuca sativa
- Sow Indoors or Outdoors: Outdoors
- Days to Maturity: 60-70 days
- Hardiness Zone: 3-9
- Planting Depth: 1/8″ inch
- Plant Spacing: 1 inch
- Row Spacing: 12-18 inches
- Growth Habit: Mound
- Soil Preference: Moist, well-drained
- Temp Preference: Warmer
- Light Preference: Full sun or partial shade
- Diseases/pests/problems: Susceptible to aphids, earwigs, cutworms, and white mold. Resistant to mosaic virus. Lettuce that is crowded while growing will have a bitter taste
- Color: Green
- Flavor: Mildly sweet
Start by sowing the seeds 1/8 inch in soil, 1 inch apart, in rows 12-18 inches apart. Make sure to allow enough space between seeds for the lettuce to grow, as overcrowding can cause the lettuce to have a bitter taste. Firm the soil lightly. While growing, keep the soil well-watered. Harvest between 60-70 days after planting, and before flowers appear, to ensure the lettuce doesn’t become too mature.
Buttercrunch Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), is the most popular variety of butterhead Lettuce. It gets its name from its soft buttery texture. It grows fast, and can be harvested over and over again, when leaves are picked as needed. Buttercrunch Lettuce is an annual, and it grows best in cooler areas. Although it is very hardy, it needs extra shade, or the leaves need to be misted in the hottest climates with the most sun. In warm climates, it can be planted in the late fall for spring harvest. This lettuce is great for salad, sandwiches, burgers and the leaves can be picked when small as baby greens or later in the season for larger, firmer leaves.
