Loose-leaf Lettuce
Starfighter Lettuce is a heat-tolerant, disease-resistant green leaf variety that thrives in cool-season gardens across zones 3 through 9. From transplants, this compact cultivar reaches maturity in just 52 days, making it one of the faster options for fresh salad greens. Its ability to handle warmer temperatures while maintaining disease resistance gives gardeners flexibility in timing, especially valuable for gardeners who struggle to keep lettuce quality through spring and early summer heat.
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3-9
?in H x ?in W
Annual, Biennial
Moderate
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This open-pollinated green leaf lettuce germinates best at 60, 70°F and grows strongest when temperatures hover around 60, 65°F, the sweet spot for crisp, tender leaves. Its compact growth habit and heat tolerance set it apart from more temperamental varieties, and its resistance to Downy Mildew provides reliable performance even in humid conditions. At 52 days from transplants, you're harvesting fresh greens faster than you'd expect, and the variety's disease resistance means fewer losses to common lettuce frustrations.
Starfighter works beautifully in fresh salad mixes where its tender green leaves shine raw, and its compact size makes it convenient for single-cut harvesting or processing into premade salad blends. The variety's heat tolerance and disease resistance make it reliable for market growers and home gardeners alike who need consistent, healthy production throughout the season.
Start seeds indoors in a cool environment; lettuce germinates best below 70°F, ideally at 60, 70°F. Sow seeds shallowly and keep conditions consistently moist but not waterlogged. Time your indoor start so transplants are ready 4, 6 weeks before your last frost date, allowing for the fastest outdoor establishment.
Transplant Starfighter into the garden as soon as soil can be worked in spring, since lettuce is a hardy crop that tolerates frost. Space transplants approximately 16 inches apart in loose, well-draining soil with a pH of 6.0, 7.0. Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over a week before planting, and transplant on a cool, cloudy day if possible to minimize stress.
Harvest Starfighter lettuce at 52 days from transplanting when leaves reach full size and show vibrant green color. For continuous harvest, pick outer leaves from the base of the plant as they mature, allowing the center to continue growing, or cut the entire head just above soil level for a single harvest. Cut heads can be held in cold storage up to two weeks if you need to stagger processing into salad mix.
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