Lettuce is a cool weather plant. Most head lettuce varieties will bolt when it warms up and not form a head anyway. Make sure to harvest when the heads are big and tightly packed. Once they reach this stage, bolting is … Additionally, iceberg lettuce often requires specific environmental conditions to produce the tight head consumers are accustomed to- without bolting or becoming bitter. Lettuce doesn't head well if it's crowded. Plants that feel threatened by harsh temperatures will often go to seed. You most likely planted a leaf lettuce. • Head lettuce does not form head. Crisphead , also known as 'Iceberg', is the lettuce most widely available as a fresh market type. Many home gardeners find this type difficult to grow because it requires a long season and some of the most advertised varieties are not heat- Despite the fact that the iceberg lettuce has far less number of nutrients when compared to other green vegetables, it is not altogether ‘useless’ and has a few benefits. It has a tightly compacted head with crisp, light-green leaves. • Romaine lettuce does not form heart. Seed was planted too deep; place seed on seedbed and cover with ½ inch of soil. Your lettuce is bolting already, even if it a leaf lettuce. Iceberg lettuce is often referred as a ‘useless’ vegetable and there is also a joke stating that this vegetable will provide as much nutrients as a cardboard. How to Grow Iceberg Lettuce. It has curved, overlapping leaves forming crispy, round heads. Growing your own iceberg lettuce is simple, especially when you keep the seedlings indoors for the first couple of months. Other names: Head lettuce, iceberg lettuce Uses: Shredded in salads, on sandwiches, and garnished in snacks 2. Iceberg should be 12" apart. Instead, it forms soft, loose heads that taste “buttery,” hence the name. Leaves are tender and often mild but flavorful. Read more about growing leaf lettuce here. Lettuce is generally a pretty easy-going crop and they’ll do this on their own without intervention from us. Butterhead. If lettuce seedlings are exposed to 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures for several days in a row, they will start forming flower buds, although the flower stalk won't shoot up until the weather warms. Iceberg lettuce is great in salads, wraps, and a variety of other recipes. The outer leaves are edible, but are not sweet like the blanched inner leaves. Harvesting Iceberg Lettuce: If you have a big crop, begin to harvest iceberg lettuce after the head begins to form. In the south we plant lettuce in the fall. Head Lettuce Though most types of lettuce will eventually form a head, there are some, such as iceberg and romaine, that are typically grown specifically for a tight, central head. You’re right that iceberg, a popular crisphead type lettuce variety, do indeed form tight heads as they mature. • Leaves of looseleaf varieties are … The leaves are creamy-white on the inside and are tightly-packed, having a mild flavor and crunchy texture. Plants are crowded. They … Also, fall crops often head better than summer crops - as the weather in the fall is cooling as they mature - which is exactly what they love. If this is what you're after (rather than a cutting mix) here is how to do it. However, there are conditions that can prevent this particular type from forming a proper head. Spring-sown crops mature as hot weather arrives. If we can beat the hard freezes, head lettuce is possible here. Butterhead Lettuce Of the head-forming lettuces, butterhead is considered to be a loose-heading type because the leaves don’t form tight, hard heads, like iceberg. 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