Lettuce - All Year Round, 1 gram - Approx. 1000 Seeds

This heritage butterhead lettuce is a staple for the kitchen garden. It produces a succulent green leaf with a crisp, compact heart that holds its texture well. This variety is remarkably resilient, and able to withstand colder temperatures. It is a workhorse of the vegetable patch, offering a consistent supply of garden-fresh greens.

Sowing Instructions

• Lettuce is easy to germinate it simply needs to be sown very shallow and kept in consistently moist soil or compost. 
• Sow seeds roughly 0.5 cm into fertile soil or a good quality compost. While you can sow these at any time of year, they really prefer a soil temperature above 10 degrees Celsius. 
• If you are sowing directly into the ground, keep your rows (drills) about 30 cm apart. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them out to 25 cm spacings.
• For those growing in pots or containers, use a 30cm pot for each lettuce. Sow two or three seeds per pot and then thin it down to the single strongest plant once they've established themselves.
• Try to sow a small amount of seed every three weeks. This successional sowing ensures you have a manageable, continuous supply rather than fifty lettuces arriving all at once.

Growth Management and Harvest

The main challenge with any lettuce is "bolting" where the plant runs to seed and the leaves turn bitter. This is usually caused by heat stress or lack of water. To prevent this, keep the soil consistently moist, especially during hot spells. In the height of summer, providing a bit of shade can help maintain the quality of the leaves. 

One of the primary benefits of this butterhead is its versatility at harvest. You can treat it as a "cut and come again" crop by harvesting only the outer leaves, which encourages the plant to keep producing fresh growth from the centre. Alternatively, you can harvest the entire head once the heart has firmed up. For those who prefer tender greens, it can even be harvested at the micro-green stage. During the harshest winter frosts, a simple cloche or an unheated greenhouse will protect the foliage and keep the harvest going year-round.