Romaine Lettuce Seeds (Lactuca sativa)

Lactuca sativa var. longifolia

Romaine lettuce, Brussels endive, ribbed lettuce, green market-garden romaine: this is the oldest cultivated lettuce, known to the Egyptians and later brought to Rome, hence its name. Its upright habit and broad, crisp central ribs make it a salad apart — it alone makes a true Caesar salad.

Characteristics:

• Upright habit: elongated leaves forming a tall head, with a broad, crisp central rib.
• Double texture: firm, crunchy ribs and tender leaf blade — two pleasures in a single leaf.
• Heirloom variety: the oldest cultivated lettuce, valued by market gardeners.
• Flexible cultivation: outdoors, under a cold frame or in a polytunnel depending on the season.

Sowing advice:

• Exposure: full sun for the first spring sowings, partial shade in summer: like all lettuces, heat and long days trigger bolting.
• Soil: cool, loose, humus-rich and well-drained, enriched with compost. Consistent soil moisture is crucial: drying out causes lettuce to bolt and become bitter.
• Method: sow barely covered, as the seeds need light to germinate. From March to May, sow successively every two weeks, then sow again at the end of summer. Warning: above 25 °C, lettuce seeds enter dormancy and no longer germinate — sow in the shade or at the end of the day in hot weather. See how to sow your seeds.

Planting advice:

• Transplant at the 4- or 5-leaf stage, spacing plants 30 cm apart, without burying the crown: this is the main cause of rot in young lettuces.

Care advice:

• Water regularly at the base in the morning, without wetting the foliage. Mulch to retain moisture.
• The market gardeners' tip: about ten days before harvesting, tie the leaves together with a soft tie. Deprived of light, the heart blanches, becomes more tender and loses its bitterness.

Harvesting advice:

• Cut the head at ground level when it is well formed and firm. Do not wait: as soon as the center rises, bolting has begun.
• Leave the stem base in the ground; it often produces a few tender regrowths.

Beneficial combinations:

• Its rapid growth makes it a good intercrop. It grows well with carrots, radishes, strawberries and leeks. Also see sugarloaf lettuce, its miniature cousin, and vegetable garden companions.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Let one plant bolt at the end of the season: its small yellow flowers attract hoverflies and solitary bees, while its seeds feed goldfinches.
• Its rapid growth helps keep the soil covered between two main crops.

Uses:

• Caesar salad owes everything to it: its crisp ribs hold the dressing without collapsing. It is also excellent grilled on a plancha, cut in half — a surprising preparation that works very well.

Harvesting your own seeds:
Let one fine plant bolt: it produces a tall flower stalk followed by achenes with feathery pappuses, which should be harvested as they reach maturity in stages. As lettuce is self-pollinating, cross-pollination is rare — an ideal species for beginners in seed production. See how to save your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

The Caesar lettuce, the oldest and crunchiest.