vegetable · leafy green

Lettuce — Chinese

Two crops in one plant. Grow Chinese lettuce for its long succulent leaves, or leave it alone and eat the thick stem instead.

Lettuce — Chinese seedling
Seedling
Mature Lettuce — Chinese
Ready to pick
Thrives
12–18°C
Water
High
Difficulty
Beginner
Ready in
50–65  days
Spacing
25cm apart
Containers
Yes

How to plant it

  • Plant 25cm apart.
  • Decide early what you are growing it for. Pick the leaves young for salad, or leave it alone and let the stem thicken.
  • For the stem, wait seven to nine weeks, cut at the base, then peel the tough outer skin before you cook it.
  • Keep it well watered whichever way you go. A stem that dries out goes woody and there is no fixing it.
  • It is an oddity in most New Zealand gardens and worth growing once for the stem alone.