Lettuce Riccia Verde da Taglio - Lactuca sativa

Lettuce 'Riccia Verde da Taglio' is an Italian variety with beautiful pale green leaves. This delicious lettuce can be harvested all year round, either all at once or as and when required. Harvest by cutting the outer leaves. It is fast-growing. Young shoots will be ready to eat as early as 20 days after sowing (from March to October).

Loose leaf lettuce does not form hearts. Instead, it forms rows of leaves that can be harvested as and when needed. The plant will continue to develop new leaves.

Lettuce is one of the most popular vegetables (with a consumption of 4.2 kilograms per person per year). It is equally appreciated for its freshness, crispness, its taste, and nutritional qualities. It can be consumed raw in salads, but also cooked, to accompany peas, for example.

As the ultimate leafy vegetable, lettuce is an annual plant belonging to the large Asteraceae family. Its Latin name, Lactuca sativa, refers both to the white sap (lactuca) that oozes when it is cut and to the fact that it is cultivated (sativa).

It is an important part of any respectable vegetable garden, and there are so many varieties that it can be cultivated almost all year round. Lettuce cultivation is easy as long as the cultivation calendar for each variety is respected. Its growth is fast, and it thrives in any soil that is rich and remains moist.

Harvesting: use a knife to cut the plants’ outer leaves. The plant will then continue to develop and produce new leaves.

Storage: lettuce can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator, but it is best eaten fresh.

Gardener's tip: during hot summer weather, lettuces exposed to direct sunlight tend to wilt. To prevent this, consider protecting them from intense rays by using overturned crates. Instead of growing summer lettuces in rows, consider growing them at the base of climbing beans, or amidst cucumbers and squashes, whose foliage provides beneficial shade.