The Best Lettuce Seeds for Spring Gardening are the Romaine Varieties

The Best Lettuce Seeds for Spring Gardening are the Romaine varieties.

This is a romaine lettuce growing in my garden in Lexington Kentucky. This same variety grows well in the early spring but will bolt here in Lexington if it gets too hot.

There are several reasons why the best lettuce seeds for spring gardening are the Romaine varieties.

• The leaves grow reaching up to the sky, so the heavy spring rains do not cause the leaves to be damaged like other varieties.
• The Romaine varieties also like cool weather. Most of them will live through a heavy frost and with a little row cover, may live even when the temperature drops down into the teens. Click here to read about row covers and which row covers are the best to purchase.
• The Romaine varieties will germinate in low temperatures. Most lettuce likes lower temperatures to germinate and experience has taught me that Romaine varieties will sprout even when the temperatures are in the mid forties.
• The leaves of the Romaine varieties grow tight enough that it is less likely the plant will be ruined by the little critters that chew on garden greens.
• Romaine varieties of lettuce almost always have thick leaves. The thicker the leaves, generally, the longer the life of the variety.

Here are a few of my favorite Romaine lettuces that grow really well in the cooler spring and fall months.
Lettuce Romaine Parris Island Cos Certified Organic Heirloom Seeds 275 Seeds

Green Romaine Lettuce Seeds - Lactuca Sativa - 0.5 Grams - Approx 600 Gardening Seeds - Vegetable Garden Seed

Seeds of Change 01143 Certified Organic Seed, Rouge De Grenoblouse Lettuce

The best lettuce seeds for Spring Gardening also include several loose leaf varieties.

If you live in a slug invested region like the Pacific Northwest you will want to make sure you grow some red varieties of lettuce. During the many years that I grew lettuce and sold salad mix in the Northwest, I discovered that slugs preferred the green varieties of lettuce. I have no idea why! But even here in Kentucky I've found that slugs avoid the red lettuce varieties. (Can slugs see color? Is there a federal study to support that notion? Probably...but this is not the place to discuss our wasted tax dollars....)

2000 Plus Seeds, Ruby Red Lettuce, Great Spring and Fall Crop

Seeds of Change S21072 Certified Organic Redina Red Leaf Lettuce

Ferry-Morse Seeds 1303 Lettuce - Black Seeded Simpson 1.5 Gram Packet Black Seeded Simpson is the lettuce I remember my parents growing when I was a child. It is still very popular. I see it growing in many gardens here in Lexington, Kentucky. It is a good lettuce to eat right out of the garden but it does not store well.

So if you want the best lettuce seeds for spring gardening - bar none - you will plant some varieties of red romaine lettuce. You get the thick leaves and also the slug protection. The best lettuce seeds for spring gardening that fit both of these criteria are:
Seeds of Change 01143 Certified Organic Seed, Rouge De Grenoblouse Lettuce

There are a plethora of seed companies. My favorite (other than just finding what I need on Amazon.com) is Fedco Seed Company. You don't get free shipping but you can get small packages of seeds and good prices.