Really Red Deer Tongue is a leaf lettuce that lives up to its name with deeply wine-colored leaves and a compact, well-shaped rosette reaching about 10 inches tall and wide. Ready to harvest in just 55 days, this variety from Wild Garden Seed delivers exceptional crunch paired with genuine sweetness. Its frost tolerance makes it a reliable choice for spring and fall gardens, thriving in full sun with minimal soil fuss (pH 6.0-7.0). Direct sow or start indoors for a succession of harvests from late spring through early fall.
Full Sun
—
?-?
10in H x 10in W
—
Moderate
Hover over chart points for details
The leaves are strikingly beautiful, wine-dark and tightly formed, but it's the flavor that keeps gardeners coming back: a clean, crisp bite with surprising sweetness that doesn't fade as the plant matures. At 55 days to harvest, you're eating salad faster than with many other leaf lettuces, and its compact 10-by-10-inch size means you can tuck it into tight garden spaces or containers without sacrificing yield. The real appeal lies in how the variety refuses to be boring: deeply pigmented, full of character, and genuinely delicious.
Eat it fresh in salads where its deep red color and crisp texture shine, or use it as a beautiful garnish for composed plates. The sweetness and crunch make it particularly good in slaws or as a base for grain bowls where you want both visual interest and substantial bite. Its compact size and tender leaves work well for whole-leaf presentations or quick tears for mixed greens.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Sow indoors 8-10 weeks before your last spring frost, then transplant seedlings outdoors once they've developed their first true leaves and soil has warmed slightly.
Harden off seedlings gradually over 7-10 days, then transplant to garden beds spaced 8 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart. Plant out around the time of your last frost or slightly before, as this variety is frost-tolerant.
Direct sow seeds outdoors beginning about 4 weeks before your last spring frost. Continue successive sowings every 2-3 weeks through early summer, then resume sowing about 2 weeks before your first fall frost to capture another full harvest season.
Harvest Really Red Deer Tongue around day 55, when the rosette has reached its full 10-inch width and the leaves feel crisp and firm to the touch. You can harvest individual outer leaves once the plant is established, or cut the entire head just above the soil line. Pick in the early morning when leaves are fully hydrated and crispest. For best flavor and texture, harvest promptly during late spring and summer sowings before bolting begins; fall and spring plantings are more forgiving of slight delays.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.
“Really Red Deer Tongue originates from Wild Garden Seed, a seed company known for sourcing and preserving lettuce varieties with real personality and performance. This cultivar represents the work of breeders and seed savers who recognized that red lettuces didn't have to sacrifice flavor or texture for color, creating a variety that performs as well as it looks. It belongs to the broader Deer Tongue lettuce lineage, a heritage type characterized by its distinctive elongated leaf shape, and Really Red brought vibrant wine coloring to this respected family.”