It is nice to harvest from your garden shortly after planting, and one of my favorite fast-maturing crops is lettuce. Lettuce doesn’t take too long to grow, and certain varieties mature much faster than others – some in 6 weeks or less!
So, which lettuce varieties are fast growing? Some of the fastest growing lettuce varieties include: Flashy Trout Back, Buttercrunch, Jericho, Green Saladbowl, Red Sails, Clearwater, Deer Tongue, Waldmann’s Dark Green, Tambay, Alboreto, Powerhouse, and Little Gem. All of these lettuce varieties will be ready for harvest in less than 6 weeks from planting. Some varieties will produce baby lettuce in 1 month or less!
Of course, you can also stagger your lettuce planting to extend the harvest window.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at 12 types of lettuce that grow fast. We’ll also give you an idea of how long it takes each variety to grow to baby lettuce or mature lettuce.
Let’s begin.
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12 Fast Growing Lettuce Varieties (Ready In 6 Weeks Or Less!)
Lettuce doesn’t take long to grow compared to some garden vegetables.
However, you can grow lettuce even faster if you choose some of these varieties:
- Flashy Trout Back (27 day for baby lettuce; 55 days for full size lettuce)
- Buttercrunch (28 days for baby lettuce; 46 days for full size lettuce)
- Jericho (29 days for baby lettuce)
- Green Saladbowl (30 days for baby lettuce; 49 days for full size lettuce)
- Red Sails (30 days for baby lettuce; 55 days for full size lettuce)
- Clearwater (31 days)
- Deer Tongue (31 days for baby lettuce; 46 days for full-size lettuce)
- Waldmann’s Dark Green (31 days for baby lettuce; 49 days for full-size lettuce)
- Tambay (32 days)
- Alboreto (36 days)
- Powerhouse (36 days)
- Little Gem (40 days)
Note: the times to maturity is from planting seed. You should plant lettuce seeds indoors 5 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost date for your area.
You should transplant lettuce 3 weeks later (2 to 3 weeks before the last spring frost date). You can find last spring frost dates by city here.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these fast-growing lettuce varieties. We’ll start with Flashy Trout Back.
Flashy Trout Back
This open-pollinated romaine lettuce variety is USDA certified organic. It has green leaves with red spots, giving it an appearance like a speckled trout!
The red spots become darker as the lettuce gets closer to maturity. Flashy Trout Back needs 27 days to grow to maturity for baby lettuce and 55 days for full size lettuce.
You can learn more about Flashy Trout Back lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Buttercrunch
This open-pollinated lettuce variety is USDA certified organic and resists bolting. It has dark green leaves that grow in tight bunches.
The head forms a fan when mature (6 inches across). Buttercrunch needs 28 days to grow to maturity for baby lettuce and 46 days for full size lettuce.
You can learn more about Buttercrunch lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Jericho
This open-pollinated romaine lettuce variety is USDA certified organic and tolerates heat. It has bright green leaves.
The leaves spread out as the head matures. Jericho needs 29 days to grow to maturity for baby lettuce. You can also let it grow longer to get a full head of lettuce.
You can learn more about Jericho lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Green Saladbowl
This open-pollinated lettuce variety is USDA certified organic. It has lime green leaves that grow in lobes (as opposed to the large, flat leaves you normally expect from lettuce).
Green Saladbowl needs 30 days to grow to maturity for baby lettuce and 49 days for full size lettuce.
You can learn more about Green Saladbowl lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Red Sails
This open-pollinated leaf lettuce variety is USDA certified organic. It has ruffled leaves with shades of green and burgundy (a nice purple-red color).
Red Sails needs 30 days to grow to maturity for baby lettuce and 55 days for full size lettuce.
You can learn more about Red Sails lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Clearwater
This open-pollinated oakleaf lettuce variety is USDA certified organic. Its dense, dark green leaves come early and have a sweet flavor.
The leaves are small so that you won’t need to cut or chop this lettuce to use it in salad! It has a great disease and pest resistance package, including:
- Aphids
- Downy mildew
- Lettuce mosaic virus
Clearwater needs 31 days to grow to maturity, so you’ll be able to harvest just 4.5 weeks after planting.
You can learn more about Clearwater lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
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Deer Tongue
This open-pollinated bibb lettuce variety is USDA certified organic and resists bolting. Its deep green buttery leaves are narrow and shaped like a tongue.
The leaves are small so that you won’t need to cut or chop this lettuce to use it in salad! Deer Tongue needs 31 days to grow to maturity for baby lettuce and 46 days for full size lettuce.
You can learn more about Deer Tongue lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Waldmann’s Dark Green
This open-pollinated leaf lettuce variety is USDA certified organic. Its green leaves grow in bunches, rather than as a head, so you won’t need to cut or chop this lettuce to use it in salad!
Waldmann’s Dark Green needs 31 days to grow to maturity for baby lettuce and 49 days for full size lettuce.
You can learn more about Waldmann’s Dark Green lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Tambay
This open-pollinated baby leaf lettuce variety is USDA certified organic. Its green, glossy leaves look more like arugula than lettuce.
The leaves are small, so you won’t need to cut or chop this lettuce to use it in salad! It resists both downy mildew and aphids.
Tambay needs 32 days to grow to maturity, giving you a harvest just 4.5 weeks after planting.
You can learn more about Tambay lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Alboreto
This open-pollinated baby leaf lettuce variety has resistance to downy mildew and aphids. Its deep red or burgundy leaves are small and buttery, so you won’t need to cut or chop this lettuce to use it in salad!
Alboreto grows upright and needs 36 days to grow to maturity, giving you a harvest in just over 5 weeks after planting.
You can learn more about Alboreto lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Powerhouse
This open-pollinated baby leaf romaine lettuce variety has resistance to downy mildew. Its dark leaves boast purple at the ends and green near the plant.
The leaves are small and crunchy, so you won’t need to cut or chop this lettuce to use it in salad!
Powerhouse needs 36 days to grow to maturity, giving you a harvest in just over 5 weeks after planting.
You can learn more about Powerhouse lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Little Gem
This open-pollinated French lettuce variety is USDA certified organic. Its buttery green leaves are sweet and form an attractive head when mature.
Little Gem needs 40 days to grow to maturity, giving you a harvest in just under 6 weeks after planting.
You can learn more about Little Gem lettuce from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Conclusion
The following table summarizes 12 fast-growing lettuce varieties, their time to maturity, and any special information you might consider when choosing which ones to grow.
| Lettuce Variety | Days To Maturity |
|---|---|
| Flashy Trout Back | 27 baby 55 full |
| Buttercrunch | 28 baby 46 full |
| Jericho | 29 baby |
| Green Saladbowl | 30 baby 49 full |
| Red Sails | 30 baby 55 full |
| Clearwater | 31 |
| Deer Tongue | 31 baby 55 full |
| Waldmann’s Dark Green | 31 baby 49 full |
| Tambay | 32 |
| Alboreto | 36 |
| Powerhouse | 36 |
| Little Gem | 40 |
fast-growing lettuce varieties
and their time to maturity.
Now you have a solid list of fast-growing lettuce varieties to choose from. If you want to harvest early to start eating salad in the spring, try some of these to get you going.
I hope you found this article helpful. If so, please share it with someone who can use the information.
You can find some vegetables and flowers that grow fast here.
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~Jonathon