- Lettuce Varieties | Quick-Reference Comparison Chart (PDF)
- Video: How to Grow Lettuce • From Seed to Harvest
- 'Bigelow' Organic Mini-Head Lettuce Variety
- Video: High-Value Crops & Varieties for Your Garden • Tutorial with Niki Jabbour
- Video: Baby Leaf Greens: 12 Picks for Market Growers | Johnny's Webinar Series
- Growing Salad Gardens: An Ultimate Guide by Niki Jabbour | Johnny's Webinar Series
- How to Choose & Grow the Best Lettuce | Tips for Every Grower
- Salanova Lettuce | Cutter Tool | Tech Sheet (PDF)
- Video: One-Cut Lettuces: Insights & Techniques for Small Farms | Johnny's Webinar Series
- Baby Leaf Lettuce | Variety Comparison Chart (PDF)
- Baby Leaf Greens: 12 Picks for Market Growers | Johnny's Educational Webinar Resources
- Baby Leaf Greens & Baby Leaf Lettuce | Technical Production Guide
- Full-Size Romaine (Cos) Lettuce Varieties | Comparison Chart (PDF)
- Growing Mini Versus Full-size Head Lettuce | A Look at the ROI
- Lettuce & Greens for Southern Growers | Johnny's Educational Webinar Resources
- Johnny's Planting & Harvesting Programs
- One-Cut Lettuces | Johnny's Educational Webinar Resources
- Salanova Lettuce | Tech Sheet (PDF)
- Video: Beat the Heat: Lettuce & Greens for Southern Growers | Johnny's Webinar Series
- Video: Salanova Lettuce | Growing, Preparing & Marketing
- Salanova Variety & Collection Specifications | 4-pp Brochure (PDF)
- Pelleted Lettuce | Key Growing Information
- Kolibri: Mini-Head Bibb Lettuce Variety
- Webinar Slide Deck | One-Cut Lettuces: Insights & Techniques for Small Farms | 60-pp PDF
- Lettuce | Full Head Varieties | Succession Planting Program
- Lettuce | Key Growing Information
- Webinar Slide Deck | Lettuce & Greens for Southern Growers | PDF
- Full-size Leaf Lettuce Varieties | Comparison Chart (PDF)
- Salad Mixes & Microgreens Mixes | 2-pp Spec Sheet (PDF)
- Growing Salad Gardens: An Ultimate Guide by Niki Jabbour | Johnny's Webinar Series
- Lettuce | Full-Head Varieties | Comparison Chart / Planting Program (PDF)
- Video: Baby Leaf Harvester for Greens, Mesclun, Spinach, Lettuces & Tender Aromatics
- Winter Growing Guide | Part 6: Recommended Crops & Varieties
- Video: The Advantages of Salanova® Lettuce | Johnny's Selected Seeds
- Prismatic Mini-Head Lettuce Mix from Johnny's
- Individual Salanova® Varieties | Comparison Chart (PDF)
Head Lettuce Succession Planting Program
Full-sized heads of lettuce are an essential product to have on hand, whether at home, at market, for CSA shares, or the farmstand. Variety selection is key in providing your customers with a continuous supply. To develop your production strategy, use the recommended program outlined below as a guide to choosing early season, mid season, and late season head lettuce varieties. We also offer recommendations based on our trials for all-season/year-round head lettuce production.
See also our notes on heat tolerance and lettuce downy mildew.
Head Lettuce Succession Planting & Harvesting Chart |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Key |
Transplant | Harvest | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Variety | Cool/Spring | Warm/Summer | Cool/Fall | Cold/Winter | ||||||||||||||||||
| Butterhead | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green | 'Nancy' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Adriana' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Milagro' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red | 'Red Cross' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Skyphos' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Marciano' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leaf | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green | 'Bergam's Green' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Tropicana' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Starfighter' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red | 'New Red Fire' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Ruby Sky' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Shirane Sky' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| One-Cut | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| All Salanova® | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Romaine | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green Hearts | 'Sparx' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Sunland' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Bluerock' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green | 'Green Forest' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Salvius' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Monte Carlo' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Chalupa' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red | 'Pomegranate Crunch' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Thurinus' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Crisp/Batavia | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green | 'Muir' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Gordini' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red | 'Magenta' | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Cherokee' | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| True Mini | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| All True Minis | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes
Heat Tolerance
Even heat-tolerant varieties have upper limits of temperatures they can withstand. At lower latitudes and in geographic pockets of intense summer heat such as the South and Southwest, growers may suspend field planting of lettuce during the warmest part of the season.
Lettuce Downy Mildew
Cultivated lettuce is the main host of this pathogenic water mould (Bremia lactucae). With its multiple, ever-evolving races, it is most common where lettuce is grown intensively year-round and spreads readily during cool, damp weather. The spores are wind-dispersed and infect outer leaves first, but can spread rapidly in the field and post-harvest. For best success:
- Choose varieties with the highest, most comprehensive list of isolate resistances across the following ranges: EU 16–36 and US 5–9.
- Focus prevention and control measures on your riskiest planting slots (fall, early winter) and locations (tunnels, beneath row cover).
- Trial new varieties to determine best performance, as isolate pressure varies by region.