Red sails lettuce is an attractive looking heirloom open-pollinated loose leaf lettuce variety characterized by dark-red crinkled leaves with green sections. It is an All America Selections (AAS) winner from 1985 which is slow to wilt and slow to bolt. This cut-and-come-again variety is easy to grow in the home garden and can also be cultivated in pots and containers.
Red sails is a red leaf lettuce of botanical name Lactuca sativa belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae. Its red leaf cousins include Lollo Rosso, Ruby Red and Merlot Red Leaf.
One of the main characteristics of Red Sails lettuce are some of its leaves which have traces of green while mostly looking deep red. Furthermore, it may appear as if the plant would develop a head, however this lettuce has no head and the leaves will not develop into a tight shape associated with a head as found in head lettuces. The leaves remain loose and are sometimes referred to as open head.
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Red Sails Lettuce Nutrition
The deep red on Red sails leaves is a result of anthocyanins, a pigmentation compound responsible for red, purple or black color in certain fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins are antioxidants useful to the human body by way of prevention or reversal of damage caused on cells by free radicals.
The red color as seen on Red sails lettuce has earned fruits and vegetables carrying this pigmentation the classification of functional foods. According to the Journal of Nutrition, functional foods are those foods that offer health benefits that exceed ordinary essential nutrients. In other words, functional foods bring much more to the table in health benefits than simply Vitamins and Minerals, which are well known essential nutrients.
Fruits and vegetables that carry anthocyanins as seen in Red sails lettuce have some capacity to reduce risk of chronic disease or to optimize health. Eating Red sails lettuce contributes to a robust anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer health standing on account of present antioxidants.
All in all, Red sails lettuce by itself despite its functionality should not be mistaken for a panacea or magic bullet to poor health habits. Health benefits from antioxidant rich foods is a combination of a variety of other foods, individual lifestyle and general good health habits.
Red Sails Lettuce Seeds
Although an heirloom cultivar, Red sails lettuce seeds are widely available online and offline. However, depending on season, availability may be seasonal. It becomes a matter of timing. The following are suggested places online to look for the best Red sails lettuce seeds.
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| Red Sails Seeds from Amazon These Red Sails lettuce seeds are sold by Hometown Seeds on Amazon. One package has 2 grams of seed at approximately 1200 seeds. The seeds are reputed for a very good germination rate with some gardeners reporting up to 95% germination. In addition the seeds propagate plants that are heat tolerant. |
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| Red Sails Seeds from West Coast Seeds These open-pollinated Red Sails seeds are sold by West Coast Seeds out of Canada which also ships to the United States. Red sails from these seeds mature in 66 days. Seed packs are as small as 1 gram ( approx. 600 seeds) to as big as 500g (over 330k seeds). Red sails lettuce from this seed will hold long after maturity without going bitter. |
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| Red Sails Seeds from Johnny’s Seeds Johnny’s Seeds sells these open-pollinated USDA Certified Organic Red sails seeds. Smallest packet has 500 seeds. Lettuce plants out of these seeds can be harvested as baby lettuce at 35 days and as mature lettuce at 55 days. These seeds can be planted throughout the year. |
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| Red Sails Seeds from Territorial Seed These are Red sail seeds from Territorial Seed based in the United States. The seeds germinate at the latest 15 days but can be as early as 2 days. They have an 80% germination rate. The lettuce plant from these seeds is mature in 53 days and grows to 10 inches (25 cm) across. There are approx. 800 seeds per gram and the seeds can be stored for up to 3 years. |
How to Grow Red Sails Lettuce
First of all, Red sails is a Lactuca sativa plant. By implication, it is thus subject to most conditions required to successfully grow lettuce red or green including harmful pests and diseases. This article by the University of Illinois Extension offers a concise guide on the basics of growing any lettuce type including Red sails lettuce.
Although lettuce in general is a cool weather crop, Red sails does well in warmer climates. This red lettuce cultivar is a well known heat tolerant cultivar. In addition, concerning pests, red sails is less prone to attack by insects.
Apart from growing it in warmer conditions, gardeners can also grow Red sails during the cooler times of the year. Planting may also be made to coincide with the arrival of the rains during which time the temperatures are cooler.
Red sails lettuce seeds can be planted directly in the soil in the garden or in pots. The soil must be fertile and well draining to avoid water logging. For quick germination, the growing medium must be kept moist. Watering by hand or irrigation is continued until the seeds germinate.
This variety can also be easily started indoors as seed and then transplanted to the ground or bigger pots when 1 to 2 inches or 2.5 to 5 cm tall. Apart from seed propagation, Red sails lettuce can also be grown from seedlings acquired from a nursery. This saves time and will drastically reduce the time to harvest.
How to Harvest Red Sails
There two primary ways to harvesting Red sails lettuce. The chosen method of harvest will be decided by how much the grower wishes to use of the harvested lettuce.
One approach is to harvest the whole plant by cutting the main stem using garden pruning shears. This method can also be used to thin the garden at the same time. The bigger lettuces are targeted first creating room for the smaller ones to increase a bit more in size before they are harvested. Thinning is a legitimate gardening technique to reduce competition and allow remaining plants to grow bigger before they are harvested.
The second method of harvesting Red sails lettuce is the popular cut-and-come-again method. This simply means the leaves of the lettuce are “sheared” and left to regrow. Usually, Red sails tend to come back about full size in two weeks. This shearing method, so to speak, helps the grower get access to only what they need and is thus less wasteful. This is an ideal Red sails harvesting method when a single or few plants are grown in containers on the balcony.
Red Sails Recipes
Similar to the different red lettuce varieties, Red sails is first and foremost cultivated for culinary applications. In most cases it is used raw in salads and salad mixes. For best health benefits, red lettuce can be served mixed with green lettuce as well as other fitting greens. Furthermore, red sails can be used in any place in a recipe where lettuce appears.
The following recipe compilation has a list of recipes in which Red sails can be used in place of any lettuce ingredient listed.
| Simple Lettuce Soup Recipe – This soup recipe utilizes coarsely chopped lettuce leaves including ribs. Replace the green lettuce leaves in this recipe with Red sails loose leaf lettuce. This brings a nice twist to the recipe. Other ingredients will include garlic, unsalted butter, ground coriander and black pepper. View Recipe. |
Wilted Leaf Lettuce Salad Recipe – This is a 15 minute loose leaf lettuce recipe. Simply replace green loose leaf use Red sails lettuce or better still mix green leaf lettuce with Red sails red lettuce. This recipe requires 4 cups of torn leaf lettuce. The lettuces can be split 50-50 between red and green. Other ingredients in the recipe include radishes, ground mustard and vinegar. View Recipe. |
Boiled Green Leaf Lettuce Recipe – This is a Chinese recipe made using green loose leaf lettuce. Red sails is used here to replace the green leaf. Other ingredients in the recipe are oyster sauce and garlic cloves. Although lettuce is usually consumed raw, this recipe is among a handful that include some cooking i.e. boiling. View Recipe. |
| Leaf Lettuce Salad Recipe – This recipe calls for a bunch of loose leaf lettuce. Use Red sails loose leaf lettuce here. The lettuce leaves are torn by hand into rough sizes without any care for precision. Other ingredients will include mayonnaise and vinegar which can be red wine vinegar or apple cider. View Recipe. |
Conclusion
Red sails is an open-pollinated loose leaf heirloom lettuce variety popular among home growers. It has health benefits that are associated with anthocyanin rich fruits and vegetables. Red sails is usually grown from seed but can also be planted from nursery seedlings for shorter maturity time. Similar to other different lettuce types, red sails lettuce is mostly consumed raw and can be used in a variety of salad recipes including salad mixes.
Recommended Read:
- Baby Lettuce Explained
- Little Gem Lettuce
- Green Leaf Lettuce
- Causes of Bitter Lettuce
- Lettuce Microgreens
- Lamb’s Lettuce
