Butter Lettuce originates from the Mediterranean for its sweet soft leaves. It can be eaten raw or cooked in a verity of salads and dishes. It gets its name from the fake that it reminds people of the soft silky texture of butter. Below are growing and care tips for growing your own Butter Lettuce plant.

Sun – Butter Lettuce needs six horse of direct sunlight everyday. In hotter climates it needs full morning sun and particle shade  in the afternoon.

Soil – Loamy well draining soil works best for this Mediterranean plant so that it’s roots do not rot from being to moist.

Spacing – Plant plant seeds and or  seedlings 10-18in/25-45cm apart. Lettuce has shallow roots that like to spread out.

Water – Butter Lettuce  needs 1-2in/2-5cm of water every week.

Food –  If you have a nutrient rich fresh garden soil your butter lettuce may not need to be fertilized at all but it is does you want to fertilize it once it starts to grow new leaves with a water salable fertilizer. This should be done every two weeks after it starts to grow new leaves and especially if they are in raised garden beds.

Annual or Perennial – Butter Lettuce is an annual  plant that can (if left alone) reseed itself and grow new plants the following year in the right climate.

Climate/Hardiness – It can be grown all year round has butter lettuce is cold hardy but it’s leaves will need to be protected from extreme cold and extreme heat.

Harvest – Butter Lettuce can be harvested two different ways. The first was is waiting 50-60 days after planting and harvesting the whole head. The second way is to slowly harvest leaves over  time by  only cutting off leaves that you need and allowing the rest to grow over time. Whenever the new leaves grow and are fully formed you can cut those leaves off and wait for new ones to grow. If you do a slow harvest never cut off the top of the lettuce as this will stop it from growing news leaves. 

Transplant – You can transplant seedlings and lettuce grown indoors outside after the last frost. You can also bring in or transplant  lettuce from outside before the first frost if you can protect it from extreme cold.

Tips – If your Butter Lettuce is bitter it either needs to be watered more often or it needs fertilizer.