Lactuca sativa 'John'

The 'John' Butterhead Lettuce is a vegetable selection that thrives in the cool temperatures of early spring or autumn. The edges of the leaves on this salad do not brown quickly and it takes a long time for it to go to seed. This variety can be sown in very cool temperatures, as soon as it reaches 10°C (50°F). Sow under cover and ventilate in hot weather. This lettuce is also suitable for outdoor cultivation during the summer season, it can be sown directly in the vegetable garden from mid-March.

If Lettuce is one of the most popular vegetables (4.2 kilograms are consumed per person per year), it is equally loved for its freshness, crunchiness, and taste as well as its nutritional qualities. It can be consumed raw in salads but also cooked, to accompany peas, for example.

The ultimate leaf vegetable, Lettuce is an annual plant that belongs to the large family of Asteraceae. Its Latin name, Lactuca sativa, refers both to the white sap (lactuca) that flows when it is cut and to the fact that it is cultivated (sativa).

It is an essential vegetable in any respectable vegetable garden and there are so many varieties that it can be grown almost all year round.

Cultivating Lettuce is easy as long as you respect the cultivation calendar for each variety. It grows quickly and thrives in any soil, as long as it is rich and remains moist.

Harvest: Simply cut it with a knife when it reaches maturity.

Storage: Lettuce can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator but, to enjoy its freshness to the maximum, we recommend consuming it right after harvesting.

Gardening tip: A real nightmare for gardeners, slugs and snails love lettuce leaves. When the hunt is on, we must admit that we are ready to do anything to repel or eliminate them: the ash cord (which will be quickly leached by the rain), the homemade trap filled with beer (which hedgehogs get drunk on until they reach an alcoholic coma), the copper strips that are supposed to electrocute them (which tickle them a little)...

Instead of wasting your time and, incidentally, your salads, we recommend using an anti-slug product composed of ferric phosphate known as Ferramol. Unlike metaldehyde-based anti-slugs, which are harmful to wildlife and polluting, Ferramol is natural, non-toxic, and very effective as long as you remember to "treat" your plot a few days before sowing.

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