loose-leaf lettuce

I have not tried any variety recently, but a dependable old standby is Black Seeded Simpson loose-leaf lettuce. Pick the outer leaves and the plants will produce till summer heat causes them to bolt to seed, which you can harvest and plant next year.

The salad garden we show at far left includes romaine and red-tinged loose-leaf lettuce. Two sixpacks of plants, or packages of two kinds of lettuce seeds, are plenty.

Loose-leaf lettuces are no doubt the easiest type to grow but not the most intriguing to eat.

Loose-leaf lettuces, such as the 50-day salad-bowl cultivars, are very useful because you can harvest individual leaves while you're waiting for the heads to reach full size.

Sorrel, endive, butterhead and loose-leaf lettuces are rich in iron.

Some loose-leaf lettuces such as Salad Bowl and Lollo Rosa have wonderful crinkly leaves and wouldn't seem out of place among summer bedding.

Loose-leaf lettuces are great value for money as they are 'cut-and-come- again' types that can be sown less frequently and they crop for longer.

Though all loose-leaf lettuces can be grown as cutting lettuces, oakleaf varieties are particularly popular because of their distinctive leaf shapes, buttery textures, and sweet flavor.

The loose-leaf lettuces mature faster than their cousins, usually within 40 days.