Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce seed Lactuca sativa
LATIN NAME: LACTUCA SATIVA
COMMON NAME: Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Garden Lettuce
Lettuce is the world’s favourite salad leaf, and it has been on our plates for thousands of years. It grows as a fast, cool-season annual, forming a loose or tight rosette of soft, tender leaves that come in an endless variety of shapes, colours and textures, from crisp, pale hearts to ruffled, ruby-red loose leaves. In warm weather it runs to seed, sending up a tall flower stalk with small, yellow flowers, followed by tiny, fluffy seeds. This Black-Seeded Simpson strain, still a huge favourite after more than a hundred and fifty years, has crinkly, light-green leaves that are tender and juicy, with large, upright plants tolerant to heat, drought and light frost.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Lettuce has a genuine and growing record in agricultural and nutritional research. As one of the most widely grown vegetables in the world, it has been studied extensively in horticulture and agriculture for its cultivation, its varieties, its yields and its breeding, and plant breeders have developed an enormous range of lettuce types, from crisphead to loose-leaf. The plant has also been studied in nutrition research, since the leaves are rich in vitamins, minerals and other beneficial compounds, and researchers have examined the health-giving qualities of different kinds of lettuce. In recent years, lettuce has become important in a surprising field of research: space biology, where it has been grown in experiments on space stations as a candidate fresh food for astronauts. For a plant of such everyday importance and such unexpected modern uses, lettuce has a bright and interesting record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce from seed, ecologically, lettuce is a gentle plant of the garden. Its small yellow flowers feed bees and other insects, and as a fast annual it grows quickly and covers the ground, leaving little time for weeds. Its economic value is enormous: it is one of the most widely grown vegetables in the world, grown in market gardens and on farms in huge quantities, and it is the foundation of the salad industry, used fresh in salads, sandwiches, wraps and many other foods. To bring lettuce along, sow the tiny seeds thinly in pots or in the ground in early spring, lay a light covering of fine compost over them, and keep them moist and cool.
sow the tiny seeds thinly in pots or in the ground in early spring, lay a light covering of fine compost over the young lettuces, and keep them moist and cool.
LATIN NAME: Lactuca sativa
COMMON NAME: Lettuce, Garden Lettuce
Lettuce is the worlds favourite salad leaf, and it has been on our plates for thousands of years. It grows as a fast, cool-season annual, forming a loose or tight rosette of soft, tender leaves that come in an endless variety of shapes, colours and textures, from crisp, pale hearts to ruffled, ruby-red loose leaves. In warm weather it runs to seed, sending up a tall flower stalk with small, yellow flowers, followed by the tiny, fluffy seeds. It is an easy, generous crop, quick to grow and endlessly useful in the kitchen, the foundation of salads everywhere.
Lettuce belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae, and it is grown as a leaf vegetable across the world. Most kinds are eaten raw in salads, while others are used in sandwiches, wraps and soups, and one type, celtuce, is grown for its thick stem, eaten raw or cooked.
Positive & Encouraging Seed Germination Guide
Growing lettuce from seed is one of the easiest and most satisfying things in the garden. The seeds are tiny and germinate readily in cool, moist conditions, so sow them thinly in pots or in the ground in early spring, cover them very lightly, and keep them moist. Germination is usually rapid, within one to two weeks. Thin the seedlings to give them room, and pick the outer leaves as they grow for a long, steady harvest. Sow a little every few weeks and youll have fresh, tender lettuce from spring to autumn.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Lettuce has a genuine and growing record in agricultural and nutritional research. As one of the most widely grown vegetables in the world, it has been studied extensively in horticulture and agriculture for its cultivation, its varieties, its yields and its breeding, and plant breeders have developed an enormous range of lettuce types, from crisphead to loose-leaf. The plant has also been studied in nutrition research, since the leaves are rich in vitamins, minerals and other beneficial compounds, and researchers have examined the health-giving qualities of different kinds of lettuce. In recent years, lettuce has become important in a surprising field of research: space biology, where it has been grown in experiments on space stations as a candidate fresh food for astronauts. For a plant of such everyday importance and such unexpected modern uses, lettuce has a bright and interesting record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, lettuce is a gentle plant of the garden. Its small yellow flowers feed bees and other insects, and as a fast annual it grows quickly and covers the ground, leaving little time for weeds.
Its economic value is enormous. It is one of the most widely grown vegetables in the world, grown in market gardens and on farms in huge quantities, and it is the foundation of the salad industry, used fresh in salads, sandwiches, wraps and many other foods. For a grower, lettuce is an easy and valuable crop, and for a gardener it brings fresh, tender leaves from the garden to the table through much of the year.
Still a huge favourite after more than 150 years, this leaf lettuce has crinkly light-green leaves that are tender and juicy. Large upright plants are tolerant to heat, drought and light frost. 45 days.