Seeds, Lettuce Tropicana (West Coast Seeds)

This variety has pelleted seeds for easy spacing. Tropicana is amazingly uniform, with crisp, green heads that boast the best bolt-resistance of any loose leaf type.

It is a Batavia type lettuce that grows as a wide, open, somewhat flat rosette. Tropicana is perfect for summer harvests of whole heads or individual leaves, and it holds well in the cooler weather of early autumn. Tropicana Organic is also resistant to tip burn and leaf scorch - and has a great flavour, too! The pelleted seeds are sold by seed count.

Recommended for hydroponic and aquaponic growing.

Matures in 70 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Season Cool season

Exposure Full sun to partial shade

Timing
Lettuce grows best in cool weather in the spring and fall, but it can be grown in the summer, and all winter long in milder regions. Sow short rows every 2-3 weeks following the last average frost date for a continual harvest. Using a cloche, cold frame, or greenhouse over mid-late summer plantings can extend the harvest period right into winter. Optimal soil temperature for germination: 10-22°C (50-72°F). Seeds should sprout in 7-15 days, depending on conditions. Lettuce seeds don’t sprout easily when the soil temperature is over 22°C (72°F) in summer. Get around this by sprouting them indoors in a cool area, or pre-sprout by sprinkling seeds on a damp paper towel and placing it in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few days. In hot weather most lettuce goes to seed rapidly, so have new plantings ready to go, and watch for "good resistance to bolting" in the product description.

Starting
Direct sow or start indoors and transplant. Sow seeds 5mm (¼”) deep, or on the surface of the soil where the soil can be kept evenly moist.. Space or thin heading lettuce to 30cm (12″) apart. Space or thin looseleaf varieties to 20-25cm (8-10″) apart. Space rows for all types 45-90cm (18-36″) apart. Babyleaf lettuce can be planted quite densely, as it is harvested at an immature size. Sowing babyleaf lettuce seeds closely together in narrow rows makes harvesting simpler.

Companion Planting
Lettuce plants make good companions for beets, Brassicas, carrot, celery, chervil, cucumbers, dill, garlic, onions, radish, spinach, squash, and strawberries.