Raise your historical binoculars and look back to 4,500 BC, when tomb paintings in ancient Egypt included the earliest known depictions of salad. Focus your view nearer to 550 BC, and observe that around the time when Confucius, Siddhartha Gautama, and Pythagoras walked this earth lettuce was being harvested in Persia for the meals of kings.

Lettuce, Latuca sativa, actually means milk grown from seed. A cool weather annual vegetable that is self-pollinating, lettuce should be harvested before it flowers and goes to seed. Anyone who has grown lettuce will probably have had the experience of having let it get too old, and learned quickly that the milky substance produced when the lettuce bolts, a form of latex, is quite bitter. If this has happened to you, don’t feel foolish; the substance is believed to be sleep-inducing, and has been used to cure insomnia. When lettuce flowers, the seedhead looks like a dandelion puff and will self-sow, or the seeds can be harvested for a later planting.

For modern day mortals in the Rio Grande Valley, lettuce growing season begins in September or October and ends anywhere from April to June, once the hot weather settles in. It isn’t susceptible to pests, but must be protected from the wind in order to avoid leaf edge browning. Feed it with good compost and steady watering, and give each plant plenty of space. Consider using alfalfa-based fertilizer to replace nitrogen used by the plant. Transplant the seedlings when it is time to thin the plants out, or as one of our RGV growers does, use a multiple harvest strategy. Plant thick and harvest the young plants as micro-greens in order to leave the maturing plants with plenty of space around them.

There are four main types of lettuce. Crisphead varieties such as iceberg have heavy compact heads, and crisp veined leaves which fade from light green to white in the center. Crispheads are the least nutritious type. Butterheads such as Boston lettuce have soft smooth leaves and tend to form looser heads with partially folded leaves. Leaf lettuces form clumps instead of heads, have wrinkled leaves, and are very easy to grow. Romaine, or cos, has long upright leaves that curl in on each other, is quite tender, and comes in red and green varieties. It is the most nutritious type; a great source of vitamins A, C and K, folate, manganese, chromium, and dietary fiber.

To retain nutrients when making salads, avoid ripping or cutting the leaves. This action results in nutrient loss as ripening enzymes destroy the flavonoids present in the leaves. Whenever possible look for organic lettuces, as lettuce is one of the vegetables that retain a high concentration of pesticide residue.

Enjoy experimenting with a variety of lettuces to enhance your diet, stimulate your appetite, and improve your health. Join us every Saturday from 3 – 5 p.m. at the Harlingen Farmers Market, 712 N. 77 Sunshine Strip in the courtyard at El Mercado Mall.