Celtuce or Asparagus Lettuce
Lactuca sativa var. asparagina. ASTERACEAE.
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting
Celtuce or Asparagus Lettuce
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow celtuce or asparagus lettuce in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- How many celtuce or asparagus lettuce plants to grow
- Growing conditions for celtuce or asparagus lettuce
- When to plant celtuce or asparagus lettuce
- How to plant celtuce or asparagus lettuce
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning celtuce or asparagus lettuce
- Companion plantings for celtuce or asparagus lettuce
- How to harvest, store, and use celtuce or asparagus lettuce
Growing Celtuce or Asparagus Lettuce
Celtic is a cool-season, cold-tolerant, leafy-green vegetable with foliage similar in appearance and taste to romaine lettuce. It forms stout central stalks upon reaching maturity, to 18 in. (45 cm) tall, which may be substituted for asparagus or celery in raw salads, served as crudités, steamed, fried, or used in Asian stir-fried dishes.
Romaine lettuce is a closely related species [see: Lettuce, Romaine; or Cos].
Celtuce or Asparagus Lettuce Plant Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 4–6 stalks per household member.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 7–10 days.
Average Climates: Sow seed in full sun–partial shade in late summer to early autumn.
Mild-Winter Climates: Sow seed or transplant seedlings in autumn–winter, when soil temperature drops 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, 2 in. (50 mm) apart, thinning to 1 ft. (30 cm) apart, in rows 18 in. (45 cm) apart, or broadcast over an area and thin to 1 ft. (30 cm) apart. Install floating row covers after planting to limit access by pests.
Best Conditions for Growth
Growing temperature: 45–75°F (7–24°C). Protect plants from temperatures below 40°F (4°C). Bolts in temperatures over 85°F (29°C) and when daylight hours lengthen in summer.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained, sandy soil. Fertility: Rich. 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 5–10–10 formula. Mulch. Cultivate.
Autumn–Winter Gardens: Protect from frost and freezes beginning in October.
Blanch celtuce to ensure white stems when 1 ft. (30 cm) tall by mulching with straw or wrapping with opaque, waterproof paper, or choose self-blanching cultivars. Chewing insect, aphid, slug and snail susceptible.
Pairing Recommendations
Carrots, cucumbers, radishes, and strawberries.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
65–90 days. Begin harvesting when 5–8 in. (13–20 cm) tall, removing alternate outer leaves, leaving the central growth bud to sprout additional leaves; avoid excessive stripping of leaves. Cut stem 2 in. (50 mm) above the soil when 4–6 in. (10–15 cm) tall but before it bolts to produce flower buds.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in vegetable keeper of refrigerator for 2 weeks. Leaves are eaten raw as a leafy green in salads or pickled as for kimchi or sauerkraut; use sliced stalks, mild with a flavor reminiscent of nuts, as raw crudités, cooked by grilling or roasting, or as an ingredient to flavor sauces, soups, and stews as for celery.