I'm growing Sierra and Nevada for the first time, right now, along with my own summer favorite, Simpson's Elite. Really, if I was stuck on a desert island (with a climate like my home town) and had to pick just one lettuce, it would be Simpson's Elite. It's boringly easy to grow, tastes great, and is as bolt resistant as a green leaf lettuce can be. If I could change one thing about it, I wish it had a darker green or red cousin that was as perfect, but I haven't found such a beast. I also just ordered some seeds from Jonny's, earlier tonight. I ordered some Anenue and Red Fire (along with more Vulcan and Magenta (an "improved Sierra") -- I wasted a whole packet of Vesey's Sierra trying to get it to germinate). What a harmonic convergence here, huh? I spent the evening poring through catalogs and the NCSU list to find bolt-resistant varieties that sounded interesting enough to try out. I have grown Jericho before. Since I harvest cut-and-come-again, it never got a decent chance to head up and show me it's best side. Big romaines aren't really my thing. I'd rather have a fast grower than the most bolt-resistant variety in the world. Bolt-resistant-enough is good enough for me, because I would rather harvest early and plant more. One like that that I was happy with last summer was Little Gem. It's a mini-cos, extremely rugged in the face of outdoor wind and rain, with extremely fast-growing and erect leaves. It makes a gorgeous but small head during cooler weather if you leave it alone, but I prefer to pick off leaves early until it bolts and during the summer that works out fine. So it's NOT bolt-resistant. It just grows quickly enough that it's not necessarily an issue. It's a different kind of lettuce that I think everybody should grow once, although it doesn't show its very best side during the summer. I grew Vulcan last year and was happy with it, but I wouldn't call it bolt resistant. Last summer, I also grew Emerald Oak, which is DELICIOUS. It has a bolt-resistant reputation which it really doesn't deserve. I also grew Merlot a couple of summers back -- extremely bolt-resistant but it grows slowly and is kind of stunted. I didn't consider it a good use of precious space. Going back to Little Gem for a moment... One other nice thing about it is that it's so erect that you can grow it shoulder to shoulder in really tight spaces. I just sow the seed directly and thin it when it gets difficult to work with. Maybe 2" by 2" per plant is enough. Crazy, but it works. I'll see how New Red Fire, Anenue, and Magenta work out later this summer. I like to try to push these things, heh. Last year, I couldn't get a fall lettuce crop started until mid-October because of a heatwave that just wouldn't go away.

Go to Johnnys Seeds web site and clic on the type of vegatable you want to grow then click on the growing information highlight the information copy and past it into a word processing program then move on to the next one and repete the process and soon you will have growing information on all of the vegatables you can grow. here's the one from lettuce. Remember to go alphabeticaly from a to z. www.johnnyseeds.com Growing Information: CULTURE: Lettuce is hardy and can be planted as early as the soil can be worked. It is a cool weather crop and makes its best growth at temperatures of 60-65°F (16-18°C). Careful variety selection is important for hot weather crops. Sow every 3 weeks for a continuous supply of fresh lettuce. THERMAL DORMANCY: Lettuce can be dormant at high temperatures. For best germination results sow at soil temperatures of 68°F (20°C) or lower. The priming process in pelleted lettuce seeds broadens the temperature range in which the seeds will germinate, overcoming some of a lot's thermal dormancy. TRANSPLANTING: Sow in flats, 4 seeds/in., or in 3/4' plug trays, barely covering seeds with fine vermiculite, 3-4 weeks before transplanting outdoors. Shade the flats on sunny, warm days if necessary to keep the soil surface cool, below 75°F (24°C), until germination. If sowing into flats, transplant 1-2' apart into flats, pots, or cell-type containers about 2 weeks later. Harden seedlings by reducing water and temperature for 2-3 days before planting outdoors. Properly hardened transplants can survive temperatures as low as 20°F (-6°C). Transplant iceberg lettuce 12' apart in rows 18' apart, other types 8-12' x 12-18' apart. DIRECT SEEDING: Seeds germinate even at low, 40°F (4°C), soil temperature, but poorly above 75-85°F (24-29°C) depending on the variety and seed lot. Cover seed lightly, about 1/8', and firm soil gently. Dry soil must be watered to ensure coolness and moisture, and for even germination. Thin young seedlings to one plant per spot. For salad mix: sow in a 2-4' wide band, about 60 seeds/ft. MT0 SEEDS: A variety name followed by MT0-10 indicates that the seeds offered for sale in sizes larger than a packet have been tested for the presence of lettuce mosaic virus and that no LMV was found in a sample of 10,000 seeds or less. MT0-30 indicates that no LMV was found in a sample of 30,000 seeds tested. NOTE: A disease-free test result does not guarantee a seedlot to be disease-free, only that in the sample tested, the pathogen targeted was not found. DAYS TO MATURITY: For full-size heads from direct seeding and growth in mild temperatures; subtract 10-14 days if transplanting. Note: maturity can be 3 or more weeks later in cool weather, and up to 1 week earlier in hot weather. AVG. DIRECT SEEDING RATE: For full-size heads (precision seeded): 5,300'/oz., 220'/1,000 seeds, 5.5 oz./acre at 3 seeds every 8' in rows 18' apart. For salad mix: 400'/oz., 16'/1,000 seeds, 6,400'/lb. At 60 seeds/ft. TRANSPLANTS: Avg. 20,000 plants/oz. SEED SPECS: SEEDS/OZ.: 20,000-30,000 (avg. 24,000). MINI: 0.5 gm. unless otherwise noted (avg. 400 seeds, sows about 17' at 24 seeds/ft., or makes 250 transplants). PACKET: 1 gm. unless otherwise noted (avg. 800 seeds, sows 34' or makes about 480 plants).

I love garlic scapes stir-fried, my chinese neighbor has also introduced me to a dish made from over the hill lettuce, once they start to elongate and before they set seed he cuts all the leaves off, does a dish using just the stalks, another dish he does is with over ripe pickling cucumbers. He grew up in northern China nothing was wasted. The dish he makes with a potato is really good, the potato is cut into very fine julianne (sp) soaked and then stir-fried with other things (can't remember what), really delicious and crispy. I think we might be missing the boat by composting some of our veggies too soon. Annette

This spring was the first time we sold lettuce for market and we did really really well. We almost sold out every week, and people would come back every week for more. In fact we had a lot of people disappointed when we did not have any available during the summer. We did not plant any for the fall because we have plans to put up a hoop house where they would have had to be planted. I believe that I bagged 6 ounces and sold it for I think $3.00. I mostly sold mixes, but would usually take some bags of just one variety, but they would not sell as well for me. Would usually end up bringing those back. I linked a page from my blog in which I explained the different mixes that we had available, if you would like to check it out. The lettuces and greens were smaller in the picture than when I took them to market. I believe I took the pictures a week or two before the first market. They were a nice size when I started to pick for market. They were still very good though, not bitter at all. I think what really helped us sell our lettuces is that no one else at our market sells lettuce, so we do not have to compete with anyone else. It is something different that they could not normally get from our market. Maybe for you it will just take time for customers to start buying your lettuces. I know I love selling lettuces and greens. It is a lot more work to harvest than other things, but for me is very much worth it. We are actually done for the year (so sad). I can still hardly believe the summer is over, how quickly it goes by. We did not even go to the last market this Saturday. Just hardly seemed worth it. We do not have much of anything left and not many customers have been coming anyhow. It would have been different if we would have had more fall crops planted, but didn't. All I have to do now is get things ready for winter, build a hoop house, and plan for next year, oh and hope spring gets here quickly. Here is a link that might be useful: Blog Salad Mixes Page