vegetable · leafy green

Lettuce — Greatlakes

The heat-resistant crisphead. Greatlakes takes longer than any other lettuce here, but stands through warmth that finishes the rest.

Lettuce — Greatlakes seedling
Seedling
Mature Lettuce — Greatlakes
Ready to pick
Thrives
12–18°C
Water
High
Difficulty
Intermediate
Ready in
65–80  days
Spacing
35cm apart
Containers
Yes

How to plant it

  • Plant 35cm apart. It makes the biggest head of any lettuce in the range and it will use the room.
  • Water deeply rather than often. The roots go further down than you would expect for a lettuce.
  • Nine to eleven weeks. Yes, really. This one is a commitment, so put it somewhere you are not going to want the space back.
  • It is the pick for a hot summer. It holds without bolting in weather where an Iceberg would have given up weeks earlier.
  • Cut at the base once the head feels heavy and firm in the hand.