Butterhead
Alkindus is a uniform, reliable red butterhead lettuce that matures in 45 days from transplants, delivering a compact head perfect for smaller gardens and succession planting. This open-pollinated variety thrives in cool weather, germinating best between 60-70°F, and brings reliable color and form to spring and fall harvests. With strong resistance to Downy Mildew, Lettuce Mosaic Virus, and TBSV, it combines the classic butterhead texture with the dependability that commercial growers and home gardeners prize.
Full Sun
Moderate
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Annual
Moderate
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Alkindus produces uniform, attractive red butterhead heads in just 45 days from transplant, making it one of the faster butterhead options for succession planting every two to three weeks. Its compact growth habit and reliable architecture mean consistent harvests with minimal variation between plants. The organic seed comes pelleted for easy handling, and the variety resists three significant lettuce diseases, so you're growing something built to perform.
Alkindus is grown for fresh salad use, where its butterhead form makes it natural for whole-head harvesting or for breaking into individual leaves. The red color adds visual appeal to mixed green salads and composed dishes where color contrast matters. As a cool-season crop, it's typically enjoyed fresh in spring and fall preparations rather than cooked applications.
Start Alkindus indoors 4-6 weeks before your anticipated transplant date. Germinate seeds between 60-70°F. Johnny's reports approximately 16,000 plants per ounce, so pelleted seed offers convenient handling. Protect pelleted seed from heat and humidity by storing in a cool, dark, dry place; use within one year of purchase for best germination rates.
Transplant outdoors as soon as your soil is workable in early spring or 4-6 weeks before your fall frost date. Space transplants 1 inch apart in rows 16 inches apart. Alkindus is frost-tolerant, so it can be planted with your earliest worked soil and withstand cool spring conditions.
Direct sow seeds into prepared soil, using row cover to improve germination and prevent soil crusting. As soon as 2-3 true leaves have formed, thin butterhead types to 12-16 inches apart. For extended harvest, plant every 2-3 weeks throughout the cool season.
Harvest Alkindus butterhead lettuce at 45 days from transplant, or when the head feels firm and fully developed. You can remove the entire plant by cutting about 1 inch above the soil, or harvest individual outer leaves to extend the season while allowing inner leaves to continue growing. Check plants daily as they mature; all lettuce eventually becomes bitter as it begins to bolt, particularly in warming weather. Butterhead types like Alkindus can keep 14-20 days in cold storage if you need to extend the harvest window.
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