Batavia Lettuce Reine des Glaces - Lactuca sativa

The Batavia 'Ice Queen' Lettuce, sometimes called 'Beauregard Frisée', is a variety of Iceberg lettuce that forms compact heads of green, toothed leaves with a remarkable taste. It can be sown from February to July for a harvest 8 to 10 weeks later.

Iceberg lettuce is pretty resistant to cold. They got their name because they used to be covered in ice from one end of the country to another in the United States.

Lettuce is a widely popular vegetable, with an average consumption of 4.2 kilos per person per year. People enjoy it for its freshness, crunchiness, taste, and nutritional benefits. It can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as a side dish to accompany other vegetables, such as peas.

The Lettuce is the ultimate leaf vegetable, an annual plant belonging to the large Asteraceae family. Its Latin name, Lactuca sativa, refers 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.

Growing Lettuce is easy as long as you respect the cultivation calendar for each variety. Its rapid growth thrives in any soil, provided it is rich and remains moist.

Harvest: Remove with a knife when the lettuces are well developed.

Storage: Lettuce can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator, but to enjoy its freshness to the fullest, we recommend consuming it immediately after harvesting. Freezing cooked lettuce is also possible.

The gardener's little trick: A true nightmare for gardeners, slugs and snails love lettuce leaves. When hunting, people do whatever it takes to repel or eliminate their target. Some methods include using ash cords (which can be washed away by rain), homemade beer traps (which can cause hedgehogs to become drunk and unconscious), or copper strips (which only tickle their target).