Lettuce 'Crisp Mint'

Lettuce 'Crisp Mint' is a wonderful old heirloom. A good sized Cos lettuce which develops dense heads of crisp and succulent leaves. The large, 'bubbly' dark green, outer leaves retain a super crispness and surround pale hearts with a mild, sweet and crunchy flavour.
The name comes from the colour of the outer leaves which are a particularly shade of mint green and slightly ruffled, surrounding a crystal white heart. Crops are bitter-free and delicious eaten fresh in salads and sandwiches. Produces sturdy crops that are heat tolerant and adapted to many soils and conditions. Tender and exceptionally crisp, they are gorgeous in the garden.

This lettuce is one of the prettiest romaine style ones you can get. It forms compact, stately plants which are great for any salad. ‘Crisp Mint’ can be cut even in hot weather and won’t wilt or droop before you get it home. You can pull off the outer leaves to use, while letting the plant heart up for use later in the season. You can also cut the main plant an inch above the ground and it will start to grow again, providing baby leaves a few weeks later. Use this variety for a great Caesar salad.
While best grown in cooler temperatures, this lettuce will hold onto its sweet taste and light flavour profile well into the warmer seasons. 70 days to maturity.

• Awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit
  Lettuce 'Crisp Mint' has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM) for reliability and good performance.

Prepare the site:
Lettuce doesn't do well in very acidic soils, and some say the pH shouldn't be lower than 6.5. A rich soil is excellent for lettuce, but the crop will also do well in average garden soil. The best crops are grown in soil that is deeply enriched with well-rotted manure and is well-fertilized before planting, especially with high nitrogen--leaf-stimulating--fertilisers such as 10-8-4, cottonseed meal, or blood meal.

Timing:
Lettuce is about 95 percent water. It develops rapidly if the growing season is cool and moist. It can grow from seed to salad in about one month in many regions, and only a little longer in others.
Lettuce is a cool-season vegetable, with an ideal temperature of 10 to 16°C (50 to 60°C); it does poorly in hot weather, and is tolerant to some frost and light freezes. Cos is more heat tolerant than most.
Never sow a whole row at once, a small row about 60cm (2ft) long is adequate for most households. For a continuous crop, sow short rows every two weeks.

Sowing: Under protection: February to March (Plant out April) Outdoors: March to August
The perfect temperature for germination is 4 to 16°C (40 to 60°F) rates decline above 20°C (68°F). The perfect temperature for growth is 16 to 18°C (60 to 65°F)
Sow at a seed depth of 6 to 12mm (¼ to ½in) Seed will germinate in 7 to 14 days.
Sow seeds in short rows about 30cm (12in) apart. To do this, make a shallow trench with a cane about 15mm (¾ in) deep. Space the rows 20cm (8in) apart. Tip a small amount of seed into your hand, take a pinch and spread thinly along the trench. Cover with soil, label and water. If birds are a problem in your garden, spread netting to prevent them eating the seed.
When the seedlings are about 2cm (1in) tall, thin them out to give them space to grow, 15 to 20cm (6 to 8in). Make successional sowings at 14 day intervals.

Cultivation:
A mulch of grass clippings, salt hay, clean straw, or the like, will keep the weeds out and the growing soil moist and cool. Watering is essential if rainfall is scant. The plants need almost constantly moist ground. This is particularly important when the lettuces are one or two weeks away from harvesting, as dry soil now will cause the plants to put their energy into producing flowers.
The key to tender and tasty lettuce is rapid growth, however lettuce has a relatively shallow and compact root system that doesn't absorb nutrients and moisture from the soil very efficiently, which can slow the growth. To encourage fast growth, add plenty of finished compost before planting and again as a side-dressing a week or so after seedlings appear or transplants are planted. Give supplemental feedings of compost tea every few weeks until harvest.

Pests:
Aphids can be a problem. Wash off minor infestations before the plants are eaten. If there is a heavy population grow nasturtiums near the lettuce, or use an organic solution.

Harvesting: 60 days to maturity. May to October
Lettuce can grow from seed to salad in about one month in many regions, and only a little longer in others. It takes around 60 days to maturity. Harvest as soon as they are big enough for the salad bowl. The harvest is over when a central stem starts to form. This is the signal that the plant is getting ready to bolt and the leaves will be bitter. Harvest all lettuce in early morning for the maximum carotene and best taste and refrigerate immediately.

Rotation considerations:
Avoid following radicchio, endive, escarole or artichoke.

Good Companions:
Everything, but especially carrot, garlic, onion, and radish.

Bad Companions:
None

Nomenclature:
The genus name Lactuca means 'Milk' in reference to the white sap of the plant.
The species name sativa (sativum, sativus) means 'that which is sown,' indicating the plant is a cultivated one, sown as an edible crop.

Lettuce Types:
There are many types of lettuce and many varieties within the basic types. These described below are only some of the more common types

• Crisphead
  Also known as the Iceberg lettuce, this is a very popular lettuce worldwide. It has a white, crisp densely packed heart. It should be light green and have a springy firm feel. A great lettuce if you plan to use the whole lettuce all at once. The leaves soon lose their crispness in the fridge.
• Butterhead
  A delicious lettuce with a tender buttery taste. It has an open loose leaf head and compact, crisp hearts. This popular lettuce is no 'supermarket' variety, but rather a proper lettuce with an exquisite flavour unavailable from anywhere but from your own vegetable patch.
• Cos
  This hardy lettuce, originating from the Mediterranean island of Cos, also known as Romaine lettuce, has tall light green leaves with pointed tips, slightly savoyed leaves and a pronounced ribbed structure. The cos lettuce should have a lovely crunchy texture and a light sweet flavour. It is the lettuce of choice for Caesar salads.
• Loose Leaf
  Also known as 'leaf' or 'Continental' lettuce, these lettuces do not form heads, rather a mass of loose leafs which can be picked individually as required. They are represented by a great variety of leaves, thick leaves, thin leaves, flat or curled, red or green. The foliage of the leaf lettuce can be an attractive addition to the vegetable garden and the flavour very pleasant.