Ark of Taste Amish Speckled Butterhead Lettuce
Discover the heritage and wholesome goodness of Amish Speckled Butterhead Lettuce, a culinary treasure with a rich history and exceptional flavor. Cultivated by the Amish community, this lettuce variety boasts delicate buttery leaves adorned with distinctive reddish-brown speckles, offering a visual and culinary delight.
Support the Ark of Taste Amish Speckled Butterhead Lettuce - 10% of sales goes to Slow Food USA!
Here's the Heritage Story:
The origins of the Speckled Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) date back to 1660 in Holland. From Holland, the lettuce was brought to Germany, where it was widely cultivated. Finally in the late 1790s the Speckled lettuce was brought to North America, first arriving in Waterloo County, Ontario. The name, Speckled lettuce, comes from the German Forellenschluss, which means "speckled like a trout".
Plant Specifications:
The Amish Speckled Butterhead Lettuce typically takes around 2 to 3 weeks from starter plant to reach maturity. Harvest the outer leaves as needed once the plant reaches a suitable size, or wait until the entire head is mature for a full harvest.
Make sure to plant in nutrient dense soil to ensure thriving plants. You can purchase our magic organic soil and organic soil boosters (micro and macro nutrients in the form of marine-based fertilizers, worm castings, and beneficial fungi) specifically curated to help improve your soil.
- Growing Season: Year Round (in mild climates)
- Harvest Method: Grazing method, cut and come again, start harvesting as soon as there are 5 mature leaves (4-5" long)
- First Harvest: 2-4 weeks from initial planting (2 weeks during peak growing seasons, 4 weeks during cold winter months)
- Final Harvest: 5-8 weeks
- Best Planted Wall Placement: Any level
We grow with the seasons! So in most climates, you will be able to grow year round. Typically most lettuce can handle the cooler temperatures and tend to look for the shade in the hotter temperatures.
You want to be aware of the extreme temperature ranges in your region. If you follow the guidelines below, you will be safe:
COLD CLIMATES
- If you live in a location where the temperatures dip below freezing, then you will want to wait until night temperatures are in the 40's consistently.
- On the occasional dips into the 30's, you can cover with a sheet or bring them indoors for that time period. The breeze is good for plants and helps to keep bugs at bay so growing outdoors is optimal.
WARM CLIMATES:
- If you live where it reaches above 90 degrees consistently, you'll want to grow heat tolerant fruiting plants (tomatoes and peppers) and herbs (basil, mint, rosemary) primarily.
To find out what extreme temperatures your location experiences, check out the USDA zone for your region.
We always ship our organic seedlings at their peak for transplant which means they can be held before shipping. We typically ship plants according to the following schedule:
CA - ship Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.
US states outside of CA - ship Mondays and Tuesdays.
Outside of US - we do not currently ship outside of the US.
For more information, refer to our shipping policy.
Don't worry we tend to over-communicate the details when it comes to logistics. You'll know when orders (both seedlings and other garden products) are shipped.
