The 5 Best Lettuce Seeds Online — Territorial Seed Company Blog

Growing lettuce is one of my favorite home gardening activities, because here in Cottage Grove, OR you can grow it almost year-round. If you’re able to provide some protection (like a cold frame or greenhouse) you can grow it all four seasons! I also love growing lettuce because it’s a crop that is easy to grow. I have a small yard, so container garden is a necessity for me. Fortunately, lettuce is the perfect crop to grow in a container.

Working at Territorial Seed Company has really opened my eyes to the different types of lettuce: iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, loose leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce, and more! We also offer lettuce mixes and mesclun mixes, so you can grow the perfect salad from one packet of seed! The available seed variations are also great, from organic seeds, pelleted lettuce seed to seed tape – we have something for every preferred method of planting.

Choosing the best lettuce seeds is no small feat! Every lettuce variety we offer could make the list, because we grow dozens of different lettuces a year (plus all our current offerings) in the continuous search for the best of the best! Our farm also specializes in producing heirloom lettuces and unique varieties that would otherwise be hard to find. Nevertheless, if you are new to home gardening or in search of a new favorite, here are my top 5:

1. Little Gem Romaine Lettuce

We have sold Little Gem for over 20 years, and it still remains a staff and customer favorite! It is the cutest miniature green romaine with its blanched, thick heart. Growing tips: Plants can be grown closer together than most varieties at 6 ½ by 6 ½ inches for maximum yields, and the heads are at prime eating size at 4-6 inches tall. Available as conventional lettuce seed, pelleted lettuce seed, and seed tape.

This was the first lettuce variety I grew when I started working at Territorial Seed Company, and it is always the first variety I recommend to new gardeners.

2. Red Salad Bowl Loose Leaf Lettuce

The red-headed sister of our long-time favorite, Green Salad Bowl. With the same oak leaf shape in pretty rosettes, Red Salad Bowl also exhibits similar growth rate, bolt resistance and irresistible texture. Available as organic lettuce seed.

I fell in love with this variety because of its striking red leaves. It also lasted much longer in my garden during the heat of summer than the other varieties.

3. Drunken Woman Frizzy Headed Butterhead Lettuce

While we won't even venture to hypothesize where the “drunken woman” part of the name comes from; the “frizzy headed” portion makes much more sense, as this unique butterhead lettuce forms a savoyed head. Robust 8-inch plants have mint green leaves that are tinged in mahogany red. Available as organic lettuce seed.

I love how uniformly beautiful this lettuce variety grew in my raised bed. Also, everyone always comments on the name of the variety, so it’s a fun conversation starter!

4. Red Iceberg Lettuce

A colorful alternative to the rather ordinary green iceberg types. This attractive red, almost chocolate-colored iceberg borrows the eye-catching qualities of a red loose leaf to form a spectacular lettuce. The medium-sized heads are fairly tight and hold a long time before going to seed. Nice, mild flavor. Available as organic lettuce seed.

My go-to lettuce for tacos is iceberg and I eat a lot of tacos, so having an iceberg lettuce growing in my garden is a must! The color of this variety grabs the attention of anyone who visits my house—the camera just doesn’t do it justice!

5. Mild Mesclun Mix

Mild Mesclun Blend provides a diversity of fresh greens for unique salads. The combination of flavors, textures, and colors was chosen to provide an even harvest. Our blend includes kale, red and green leaf lettuces, corn salad, as well as mizuna and tatsoi. Available as conventional lettuce seed and as a seed mat.

I had to include a seed mix on my list, because it’s so fun to grow so many different textures and colors all from one packet!

Honorable Mentions

Valmaine Romaine Lettuce: a classic romaine lettuce that is the best choice for traditional Caesar salad. Very heat tolerant, so plan to grow this one spring, summer and fall.

Heat Tolerant Lettuce Mix: A durable blend for 3-season field cultivation. Mix of green, red and speckled Romaine lettuces.

Green Salad Bowl Loose Leaf Lettuce: A prime candidate for early spring sowings in a cold frame or even unprotected in the garden. Grows very rapidly for early spring salads and resists bolting when summer arrives.

Skyphos Butterhead Lettuce: Skyphos is gorgeous! Delicious and buttery, it is also a strong performer with good disease resistance. Perfect candidate for growing in a greenhouse, high tunnel or in the garden.

Newham Romaine Lettuce: This small-statured romaine actually out-performed Little Gem in our trials! (Shhh, don’t tell Little Gem)! This multi-season lettuce produces perfectly uniform plants. At 8 inches tall and only 6 inches wide these plants can be packed tightly into a dense planting or container.

North Pole Butterhead Lettuce: This cold-weather performer deserves a shout out. North Pole is a sweet, compact, light green butterhead that can be harvested throughout the winter and early spring. In mild regions, plant right in the garden and in cooler regions, place in a cold frame. Imagine the satisfaction of serving a salad at your holiday dinner that came from your own backyard!

Lettuce Growing Tips

Lactuca sativa
Soil Temp for Germ: 40–80°F
Seed Depth: ⅛"
Seed Spacing: 1"
Days to Emergence: 2–15
Thin Plants to: 10–16"
Row Spacing: 16–18"
Fertilizer Needs: Low
Minimum Germination: 80%
Seeds per Gram ≈ 800
Seed Life: 3 years
• Lettuce performs best in cool weather, 60-70°F, and grows in a wide range of soil types
• Plant in spring as early as your soil can be worked
• For extended harvest, plant every 2-3 weeks and choose heat tolerant varieties for summer
• Lettuce seed can be sown every month from February—October
• A cold frame and cold-hardy varieties can stretch the spring and fall growing season into the winter months
• Apply 1 cup of TSC's Complete fertilizer per 10 row feet, and 1 inch of compost
• 1 gram of seed will sow 30 row feet
• Consistent, even watering is critical for best results

Direct Sowing
• Use row cover to improve germination and prevent soil crusting
• As soon as 2-3 true leaves have formed, thin loose leaf lettuce types to 10-14 inches apart; iceberg lettuce, butterhead lettuce, and romaine lettuces to 12-16 inches apart

Transplanting
• Start indoors 4-6 weeks before anticipated transplant date

Insects & Diseases
• Common pests: Aphids and slugs
• Pest control: Ladybugs for eating aphids, a strong spray of water for aphids or applications of Pyrethrin or Neem oil, baits, traps, and Cabbage Collars for slugs

Harvest & Storage
• While picking individual leaves helps extend the season somewhat, all eventually become bitter as they begin to bolt (so harvest early!)