Butterhead or Bibb Lettuce
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
Butterhead or Bibb Lettuce
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow butterhead or bibb lettuce in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- How many butterhead lettuce plants to grow
- Growing conditions for butterhead lettuce
- When to plant butterhead lettuce
- How to plant butterhead lettuce
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning butterhead lettuce
- Companion plantings for butterhead lettuce
- How to harvest, store, and use butterhead lettuce
Growing Butterhead or Bibb Lettuce
Butterhead and Bibb lettuce are cool-season, leafy green vegetables with plants to 1 ft. (30 cm) tall, bearing loose heads of wavy-fringed, light green leaves with cream yellow centers. Crisp textured and delicate in flavor, cultivars include those with heads to 7 in. (18 cm) wide and miniatures only 4 in. (10 cm) wide.
Butterhead Lettuce Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 6–10 heads per household member. A square bed, 16 sq. ft. (1.5 m2) in area, yields enough salad greens for a family of 3 for 4–6 weeks.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 7–10 days.
Average Climates: Sow seed indoors 4–6 weeks before last expected frost or, after frost hazard has passed, in spring–early autumn.
Mild-Winter Climates: Sow seed in full sun–partial shade in spring–early winter. Harden seedlings 5–7 days before transplanting when soil warms to 40–75°F (4–24°C).
Autumn–Winter Gardens: Sow seed from May–October or transplants from June–October for harvest in autumn–winter.
Sow seed 1/4-in. (6-mm) deep, 1–2 in. (25–50 mm) apart, thinning to 6–8 in. (15–20 cm) apart, in rows 16–24 in. (40–60 cm) apart, or broadcast over an area and thin to 1 ft. (30 cm) apart. Avoid overcrowding. Plant successions every 3–4 weeks. Install floating row covers after planting to limit access by pests.
Best Conditions for Growth
Growing temperature: 45–75°F (7–24°C). Bolts in temperatures over 85°F (29°C) and when daylight hours lengthen in summer. Protect plants from temperatures below 35°F (2°C).
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained, sandy loam. Fertility: Average. 6.0–6.8 pH. Prepare soil at least 1 ft. (30 cm) deep.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist; avoid wetting foliage. Apply ample water during the head-development stage. Fertilize only at planting with 0–5–5 formula. Mulch. Cultivate. As plants mature, avoid overhead watering in direct sun to prevent leaf blemish. Chewing insect and slug, snail susceptible.
Autumn–Winter Gardens: Protect from frost and freezes beginning in October.
Pairing Recommendations
Carrots, cucumbers, radishes, and strawberries.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
65–80 days. Best harvested as needed. Begin harvesting when plants reach 10 in. (25 cm) tall, 5–6 weeks from sowing, thinning outer leaves, leaving the central growth bud to resprout. Cut heads 2 in. (50 mm) above the soil when plants mature, before bolting. Pull roots and reseed bed; roots left in the soil will resprout with coarser, less flavorful foliage.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in vegetable keeper of refrigerator for 2–3 weeks. Good eaten raw as a leafy green in salads or as a outer wrap for Asian-style summer rolls; steamed as wrap over ground-meat fillings as one would for cabbage rolls, or prepared similarly raw as Asian summer rolls; or as a garnish for tacos, hamburgers, sandwiches, and wraps.