Using Headed Lettuce in a Sustainable Garden

October 29, 2017 Author: Ann Clary Organic Gardening: Vegetables / The Mighty Garden Archive

You may have thought of looseleaf lettuce as an ideal addition to a sustainable garden. Broadcast a few seeds in the open areas of your garden, and looseleaf lettuce can fit in anywhere. And if you allow some lettuce plants to bolt or go to seed, your looselettuce can magically reappear the following season. But have you ever thought of using headed lettuce in your sustainable garden? With its beautifully mottled leaves arranged in rosette-like heads in varying hues of green, red and bronze, headed lettuce makes a visually stunning plant.

Butterhead varieties can be visually spectacular with loosely gathered “buttery” tasting leaves. Try Buttercrunch, known for being one of the more heat resistant varieties. Artic king is a newer variety, known for reliable production, extremely sweet leaves, and holding for an unusually long time at maturity. Other visually appealing varieties include Marvel of Four Seasons (pictured above, with beautiful bronze leaves) or Batavia (frilly green leaves).

Lettuce’s shallow root system allows the gardener to grow headed lettuce between many other plants without disruption. As a very compact plant, headed lettuce can be grown in a small area. Though not as visually appealing as the stunning Butterhead varieties, baby romaine heads are especially dense and can be grown very close together. This is biointensive gardening: producing a maximum amount of food with a minimal amount of land.

Use the defined circular shape of headed lettuce to create dramatic rows or geometric designs. Experiment with alternating colors. Use headed lettuce to frame your garden or to create exciting bursts of random color. Planting headed lettuce is a good way to try out a new design without a long term commitment.

Experiment with different varieties of headed lettuce to see which varieties perform the best in the specific microclimates of your garden. Take detailed notes and observe the growth patterns as well as the problems and pests associated with each variety during each season. Once you learn how the different varieties perform in your garden, you can design an annual planting program optimized for your garden with the varieties of headed lettuce you like best. And best of all, take advantage of the fact that unlike most of the country, many areas in California can enjoy home grown headed lettuce for most to all of the calendar year.

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