Baby Lettuce Information

Baby lettuce refers to a range of lettuce cultivars that are harvested for use as specialty produce before reaching full maturity. This type of lettuce can also be produced by reducing spacing between plants. Baby lettuces are typically small in size, and when harvested early, are tender and in some cases lighter than the fully grown lettuces. Baby lettuces can be derived from romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, butterhead and crisphead lettuce varieties.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Interest in baby leaf vegetables has been growing rapidly in the last 20 years in the United States due to the popularity of ready-to-eat salad mixes.

According to the journal HortScience by the American Society for Horticultural Science, ready-to-eat salad mixes experienced more than 5-fold increase in sales between 1993 and 2008 from $197 million to $2.7 billion. This number has presumably increased since.

This feature explains in detail about baby lettuces. It seeks to characterize what a baby lettuce is, where to source seeds for home cultivation, considers possible varieties, how they are grown and also looks at various culinary applications of these baby leaf vegetables.

What is Baby Lettuce?

Contrary to what may be widely presumed, baby lettuce is not a unique lettuce cultivar.

Baby lettuces are essentially immature regular lettuces. Together with traditional lettuce, they are botanically Lactuca sativa in the daisy family Asteraceae. Along with lettuce, other baby leaf vegetables include kale (Brassica oleracea), arugula (Eruca sativa), and mustard greens (Brassica juncea).

According to Greenhouse Product (GPN) magazine, baby leaf vegetables are best defined as “vegetables harvested after the development of true leaves, but before the eight true-leaf stage”. This video by the University of Illinois Extension Service explains more about plant true leaves.

Baby lettuces are all about harvest timing. In order to obtain the baby leaf vegetable, harvesting must be done prematurely. This results in baby greens that possess certain traits that are particularly attractive for use in salad mixes, for example. Baby greens typically have succulent and tasty leaves and good texture.

Most home gardeners who already grow regular lettuce are well positioned to grow their own baby lettuces as there is no extra skill or sophisticated knowledge required.

However, due to the popularity of baby leaf greens, certain seeds have been bred which produce baby leaf vegetables of superior quality. We have in mind here the Tamarindo Organic Babyleaf variety. There is good return in growing such specialty seeds when cultivating baby lettuces.

Sources of Baby Lettuce Varieties

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) cultivars broadly fall into four main types according to University of Maryland Extension. It is within these broad types that lettuce baby leaf greens are derived. The main lettuce cultivars that can be used to produce baby lettuces are as follows:-

Loose Leaf lettuce

Loose leaf lettuce is the most cultivated type by home gardeners for good reason. It is easy to grow and can also be grown in pots and containers. As the name suggests, leaf loose lettuce produces loose leaves and does not form a head. There are over a dozen varieties of this type of lettuce. Examples include coral lettuce, frillice lettuce and wintergreen cut lettuce. Loose leaf lettuce is a popular source of baby lettuces for salad green mixes.

Butterhead Lettuce

Butterhead lettuce also produces some good baby lettuces. This lettuce type has a rounded shape, the reason why it is sometimes called cabbage lettuce and soft leaves which are buttery from whence it derives its name. Although red varieties exist, butterhead is mostly known for its deep green pigment. Popular butterhead varieties are white Boston, tom thumb and buttercrunch varieties. Baby greens can also be harvested from the butterhead lettuce.

Romaine Lettuce

Also known as Cos, Roman or Manchester lettuce, Romaine lettuce is said to have originated on the Greek Island of Cos (Kos). It is characteristically fairly large when left to mature with firm heads and long thick leaves. It is considered the most nutrient rich lettuce owing to its deep color. According to the University of Arizona College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, it has 5 times more Vitamin C than Iceberg Lettuce. This variety is used to produce the petite baby green Romaine Lettuce.

Crisphead Lettuce

Finally, the fourth lettuce type is the Crisphead also commonly known as Iceberg lettuce. This is a spherically shaped lettuce which produces a firm head similar to that of the cabbage when let to mature. It has big leaves which are highly concentrated with water. The baby iceberg lettuce that is derived from this variety is harvested early. It is usually sold as a small round lettuce the size of a softball. It still maintains its crispness and high water content.

Where to Find the Seeds

Seeds for growing baby lettuce are available online and offline in gardening stores. As earlier stated, baby lettuces are all about harvest timing (see section below on how to grow baby lettuce). This means just about any lettuce variety can be planted for the production of baby leaf greens. Below is our compilation of good lettuce seeds to consider.

Picture showing Great Lakes Iceburg Lettuce variety

We suggest these additional varieties as sold by West Coast Seeds suitable for producing good-looking and good-tasting baby leaf vegetables.

How to Grow Baby Lettuce

Baby lettuce is generally grown in the same way as regular lettuce at first. Lettuce is a cool-season crop that can tolerate light frost conditions. Furthermore, it requires full sun or soil conditions warm enough to facilitate rapid growth. There are essentially two methods of obtaining baby lettuce out of regular lettuce. This is as follows:-

Early Harvesting

The primary way of obtaining baby leaf greens is through immature harvesting. When exactly to harvest baby lettuce is a subjective decision by the grower especially for home gardeners. Considering that lettuce is ready to harvest as microgreens, a few days after germination to any time at maturity is a window within which to harvest and enjoy baby lettuce.

Typically, home growers would be interested in the size, texture and flavor of the lettuce leaves or heads. On the other hand, commercial producers of baby lettuces tend to have a method to it which is systematic and informed by market preferences. Finally, the variety of the lettuce being grown also contributes to harvest timing. For example, baby iceberg lettuce is harvested weeks earlier than traditional iceberg heads.

Plant Spacing

Going by size, small lettuce leaves and heads can be obtained by reducing spacing between plants. Lettuce plants that are not thinned out produce smaller heads and smaller leaves due to competition. This method is used in the production of specialty vegetables such as cipollinis and pearl onions.

Potatoes and beets are other examples of vegetables that can produce much smaller versions of themselves through intentional overcrowding. However, as earlier mentioned, most baby lettuces are obtained through normal farming practices but early harvesting for quality reasons.

Diseases and Pests

Baby lettuce is prone to similar bacterial and fungal diseases as those affecting regular lettuce. Tender lettuce can be attacked by fungi soon after germination resulting in rotten stems and roots. Such diseases are an immediate threat to baby lettuces.

However, because baby lettuces are harvested early, they may escape certain diseases that visit lettuce crops at a later stage. The growing interest in baby leaf vegetables has encouraged seed developers to create baby lettuce seeds resistant to certain common diseases such as downy mildew and tipburn.

Nonetheless, baby lettuces are considered at equal risk of diseases and pests already known to affect lettuce. This write-up from PlantVillage, a research unit of Pennsylvania State University, details common lettuce pests and diseases.

Finally, baby lettuce is also prone to contamination which can be harmful to human consumers of the vegetables. This was shown through an incident in Europe.

In mid-2021, a diarrhoea-causing parasite left 40 people ill in Ireland following the contamination of baby salad leaves according to news reports. The people affected showed signs of cryptosporidium infection, a parasite mostly spread via contaminated water according to the CDC.

The farm which produced the baby leaf vegetables was a mixed enterprise operation which included livestock. It is thought that this may have been the source of the parasite.

This incident adds weight to the importance of thoroughly washing baby vegetables before use to avoid contamination considering that the produce is mostly consumed raw.

Baby Lettuce Recipes

Although some animals have leafy greens in their diet especially as excess after harvest, baby lettuces are primarily cultivated for culinary purposes. As already highlighted, in most cases, the lettuce is consumed raw. The following are some interesting recipes to try out that use baby lettuce.

Little Gem Lettuce Recipe (Video)

This video demonstrates how to make little gem lettuce with garlic. Baby little gem lettuce can be used in the recipe. Other ingredients used include garlic cloves, extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.

Handy Lettuce Kitchen Accessories

Lettuce is mostly consumed raw be it baby lettuce or mature lettuce. It is thus important to put extra effort and care when handling it from washing, to cutting and storing it to avoid contamination and premature wilting. The following are some suggested accessories for use with baby lettuce and regular lettuce.

Lettuce Spinner

Salad spinners also known as salad tossers are handy kitchen equipment. They perform the important job of properly washing and removing excess water from salad greens. This reduces risk of contamination and also enables better dressing adherence to the leaves without water dilution.

Picture showing Lettuce Salad Spinner Equipment

Lettuce Keeper

Lettuce keepers are simple kitchen equipment used to keep lettuce and other leafy greens fresh and crisp. They help delay vegetables wilting and going bad.

Conclusion

Baby lettuce is a legitimate Lactuca sativa genus. The difference between baby leaf greens and regular lettuce vegetables is harvest timing. Baby leaf greens are harvested prematurely and have specific traits such as size, flavor and taste that appeal to salad mixes. Baby lettuces can be cultivated from any of the four lettuce types of loose leaf, butterhead, romaine and iceberg lettuce. This also means baby lettuce is equally prone to diseases and pests that affect regular lettuce types.

Recommended Reading:

	Tamarindo Organic Babyleaf West Coast Seeds These seeds will produce dark red colored baby leaf salad greens with erect growth ready for harvest in 35 days. The baby lettuce from these seeds will be resistant to downy mildew disease. The seeds are open-pollinated and certified organic.
	Iceberg Lettuce Seeds Try Amazon These are non-GMO heirloom iceberg lettuce seeds by Sow Right Seeds based in the United States. This variety can also be cultivated indoors even during winter under lights or in a hydroponics system
	Paris Island Cos Seeds Try Amazon These are also open-pollinated, non-GMO heirloom seeds producing cut and come again romaine baby lettuce. The seeds are by Gardeners Basics based in the United States. The pack has over 2000 seeds which can also be grown using a hydroponic growing system.
	Butterhead Seed Collection Try Amazon This collection of butterhead baby lettuce seeds kills the proverbial 5 birds with one stone. The collection has 5 varieties namely White Boston, Tom Thumb, Buttercrunch, Marvel of Four Seasons and Bronze Mignonette lettuce seeds. This is designed to produce an assortment of baby salad greens.
	Ilema Organic Seeds West Coast Seeds These open-pollinated seeds produce fast growing dense baby leaf lettuce with curly leaves also commonly known as coral lettuce or “lollo bionda” type lettuce. The seeds are certified organic.
	Little Gem Lettuce Seeds West Coast Seeds These are open-pollinated seeds of the popular little gem lettuce which is small with mini romaine heads that fit in the palm of the hand. harvest them early as baby leaf vegetables.
	Oaky Red Splash Organic West Coast Seeds These seeds produce loose leaf baby greens which are typically upright with a bronze cast splashed with irregular red patches. The seeds are open-pollinated and certified organic.