vegetable · leafy green

Lettuce — Buttercrunch

The soft one. Buttercrunch makes a loose butterhead with a sweet pale heart in five to six weeks, and it is the most forgiving lettuce in the range.

Lettuce — Buttercrunch seedling
Seedling
Mature Lettuce — Buttercrunch
Ready to pick
Thrives
12–18°C
Water
High
Difficulty
Beginner
Ready in
35–45  days
Spacing
25cm apart
Containers
Yes

How to plant it

  • Plant 25cm apart. It spreads into a soft open head rather than hearting up tight.
  • Keep the soil damp. Buttercrunch turns bitter faster than most when it gets thirsty, and bitter does not come back.
  • Ready at five to six weeks, when the centre feels padded rather than hard. It should give a little when you press it.
  • Take outside leaves earlier if you want something off it sooner. The heart keeps filling out regardless.
  • Give it afternoon shade in a hot spell. Soft butterheads bolt well before a crisphead would.