Lettuce Merlot 55 days. (Also known as “Galactic.”) Reputed to be absolutely the darkest red lettuce in existence, which should make it tops for anthocyanin (antioxidant) content as well! Leaf lettuce with wavy to frilly leaf margins and very crisp, waxy leaves! Excellent bolt resistance, and good cold tolerance for a late fall to winter crop. Recommended as a cutting type for baby greens production or cut-and-come-again harvesting. We feel, along with our friend William Woys Weaver, that this variety is destined to become a classic, and it certainly deserves it!
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- 4-8 hours of Sun
- Sprouts in 7-10 Days
- Ideal Temperature: 60-80 Degrees F
- Seed Depth: 1/4″
- Plant Spacing: 8″
- Frost Hardy: Yes
- Lactuca sativa
Growing Tips: Sow in thick bands for baby greens or space farther apart for head lettuce. Best grown as a spring or fall crop in most areas.
Sowing Your Seeds
Lettuce Merlot Many varieties can be sown all year round but lettuces are cool weather plants and don’t grow well in the heat of summer. If you choose to grow them in summer make sure they have some shade from the hot afternoon sun. You could grow them on the southern side of a bush or place some shade-cloth over them.
Lettuce seeds can be sown directly where you want them to grow, but the problem with this is that it leaves the emerging seedlings vulnerable to the hoards of pests that just love to eat them. It is far better to sow the seeds onto fine soil in a seedling tray or a pot, then just cover them lightly with fine potting soil. They must be sown very shallowly or they won’t come up as they need light to germinate.
Use good potting soil from your garden supplier in your tray or pot, not soil out of your back yard, and water them gently after sowing. Keep them moist but not wet and they will emerge in about seven days.
Most people like to sow a few seeds every couple of weeks so there is always some ready-to-pick lettuces in the garden. This protects you from the problem of having a lot ready at once, then nothing.
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