Gatsbi is a high-performance gem-type lettuce that delivers crisp, tender leaves in just 52 days from transplant. This open-pollinated variety thrives in cool seasons across hardiness zones 3, 11, making it accessible to gardeners in nearly every region. Its compact growth habit means it won't sprawl across your garden, and its frost tolerance lets you plant with your earliest spring soil work or extend the harvest into fall.
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3-11
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Gatsbi earns its reputation as a high-performance gem type through reliable, consistent production in cool weather. It germinates best between 60, 70°F and grows optimally at 60, 65°F, so it actually thrives during the seasons when many other crops struggle. At 52 days from transplant, you'll move from seedling to harvestable head quickly, and its compact growth means you can tuck six plants per row foot without crowding.
As a tender, crisp lettuce, Gatsbi excels in fresh salads and as a garnish where its delicate texture shines. Its quick maturity and compact form make it well-suited to successive plantings throughout the cool season, allowing you to harvest fresh heads continuously rather than all at once.
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Start Gatsbi indoors 4, 6 weeks before your last spring frost or 8, 10 weeks before your first fall frost. Maintain soil temperature between 60, 70°F for best germination. Transplants are ready to move outdoors once they develop their first true leaves and have been hardened off gradually over 7, 10 days.
Transplant Gatsbi seedlings outdoors as soon as soil can be worked in spring, or 8, 10 weeks before the first fall frost. Space plants 6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart. Harden off transplants by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over one week. Soil temperature should be cool, ideally 60, 65°F, for best establishment.
You can direct sow Gatsbi seed outdoors in early spring or late summer for fall harvest. Sow seeds where you want them to grow, spacing them 6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart. For continuous harvests, sow fresh seed every 2, 3 weeks throughout the cool season.
Harvest Gatsbi heads at 52 days from transplant, or when they feel firm to the touch and reach desired size. Cut heads at soil level with a clean knife, or harvest outer leaves individually for a continuous supply. Morning harvest yields the crispest, most hydrated leaves. If you need to extend the harvest window, cut heads can be held in cool storage (35, 40°F with high humidity) for 14, 20 days before quality declines.
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