Oakleaf, a delicious lettuce

Green, red or gold, its leaves are thinner and softer than a common lettuce’s, and better tasting for it. Oakleaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. crispa) is ready to pick around six weeks after sowing, and if you slice the head at the collar instead of pulling it up, new leaves sprout for a second cut.

Oakleaf lettuce at a glance

Name	Lactuca sativa var. crispa
Family	Asteraceae
Type	annual
Height	8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm)
Exposure	full sun, part sun
Soil	ordinary
Sowing	small batches every 2 weeks
Harvest	around 6 weeks after sowing

It requires very little space, and is open to everyone, even if you only have a balcony. This group of lettuce varieties has thinner, softer leaves that are more tasty than thicker leaves of common lettuce.

Sowing oakleaf lettuce

Oakleaf lettuce is sown quite early in season, as early as late winter.

Direct sowing, in rows from Late winter to mid-autumn depending on the type and species.

• The earlier you start, the more you’ll need to protect your seedlings with cold frames, garden cloches or tunnels.
• It is possible to sow directly in the ground as early as May.

As for sowing in the summer, germination is difficult above 70°F (20°C), so favor a cooler spot in the garden, even in the shade eventually…

It is a good idea to sow or plant small quantities of oakleaf lettuce repeatedly. Ideally, every 2 weeks, so that you will always have crisp and crunchy lettuce that’s ripe for the picking.

• Spring oakleaf lettuce – sow in a nursery in late winter or early spring.
  As soon as frost spells are over, you may remove the tunnel.
• Summer oakleaf lettuce – sow directly in the plot from mid-spring to early summer.
• Fall oakleaf lettuce – sow in the ground from late spring to early summer.
• Winter oeakleaf lettuce – sow in a nursery from late summer to mid-autumn.

In all cases, thin sprouts down to one every 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) as soon as the first leaves appear.

Did you know that salad and lettuce is perfectly suited to growing in pots? You’ll be able to savor it directly from your balcony or terrace.

Which sowing for which harvest

Oakleaf lettuce can be sown from late winter to mid-autumn, but the method and the protection change with the season you want to harvest in. Use this table to pick the right window.

Whichever window you choose, sow only small quantities at a time and repeat every two weeks.

Planting oakleaf lettuce from store-bought nursery pots

If you wish to avoid the seedling stage, it is often possible to purchase your lettuce in nursery pots with small leaves.

You can plant them in the ground, either in your vegetable patch or in a garden box on a terrace or balcony.

• Space each plant 12 inches (30 cm) apart and water regularly.
• Once again, just plant what you need and repeat planting regularly.
• With drip irrigation, you won’t have to worry about bolting.

Pass over pots whose lettuce has a long bare stem or roots coiling from the drainage holes; such stressed, root-bound transplants are more prone to bolting early, often yielding a poorer harvest.

Harvesting oakleaf lettuce

Harvest your lettuce, salads or romaine when their core has reached a good size.

• When harvesting, no need to remove the roots: each base will sprout new leaves.
• Best is to use a sharp knife and to slice the head of lettuce at the collar.
  Leave the white portion intact, and new leaves will quickly sprout for further harvest.
• Water regularly to keep the soil moist.
• Lettuce must be harvested before it goes to seed.

Don’t dither to harvest your lettuce, because the crunchier, the better!

Growing oakleaf lettuce in winter

It is possible to harvest lettuce all season round, and even during winter.

• These can be sown from Late summer to mid-autumn directly in the ground.

As soon as the cold hits, protect your seedlings and plants with a small greenhouse, a tunnel, or any other device that will help your lettuce grow even though temperatures are below freezing, providing as much light as possible.

• Open the tunnel or cloche on mild, sunny days, because trapped damp air quickly turns winter lettuce leaves to grey mould.
• For winter greens such as kale and spinach, gardeners commonly advise waiting until frozen leaves have thawed before harvesting, since frozen foliage is brittle and bruises or breaks more easily.
• Water in the morning rather than the evening, so the foliage has time to dry during the day, since prolonged leaf wetness overnight encourages fungal diseases.

All there is to know about oakleaf lettuce

Gardeners after red leaves can try ‘Red Salad Bowl’, which like all oakleaf types won’t bolt as easily as common lettuce and, sliced at the collar, will quickly sprout new leaves for a further harvest.

Rather easy to grow, lettuce doesn’t require much care during its entire growth phase, except for light regular watering.

An annual belonging to the Asteraceae family, lettuce doesn’t deliver very energy-laden nutrition, but contains high amounts of water and an excellent omega 3 ratio.

There are also many trace elements, fibers, minerals and vitamins that our bodies require.

• In a nutshell, remember that lettuce is easy to grow and boasts high nutritional content: great assets for any gardener!

Colorful oakleaf lettuce varieties

Oakleaf lettuce won’t bolt as easily as common lettuce. Among the various oakleaf lettuce sub-species you’ll find:

• ‘Lansai’, a red oakleaf lettuce
• ‘Red Dragon’, also red

• ‘Panisse’, a green oakleaf lettuce
• ‘Bauer’, green oakleaf lettuce

• ‘Salad Bowl’, a golden green oakleaf lettuce

Choosing an oakleaf lettuce variety

Oakleaf types all share the same soft, lobed leaves and the same willingness to resprout after cutting, but they differ in colour, in the season they suit best and in whether they are grown on as full heads or picked young as baby leaf. The table below sets out the varieties most often found on seed racks and in catalogues.

Keeping oakleaf lettuce

Even though it doesn’t keep very well, it still is possible to extend its shelf-life a bit longer if you wrap it loosely in a cloth or plastic wrap and store it in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator.

• But the best path for oakleaf lettuce is straight from garden to plate!

• Store it away from apples and pears, whose ethylene speckles lettuce leaves with rusty brown spots.
• Harvested salad greens that have gone limp from moisture loss can usually be re-crisped by soaking them in ice-cold water for 15 to 30 minutes, then draining and spinning them dry.
• With cut-and-come-again crops such as loose-leaf lettuce, chard, kale and spinach, leave plants in the ground and take only the outer leaves you need, since an undamaged growing point keeps producing more.

---

---