Devil's Tongue Lettuce is a loose-leaf variety that delivers tender, flavorful greens in just 55 days from direct seeding. This frost-tolerant cultivar thrives in cool-season gardens and rewards gardeners with the ability to harvest individual outer leaves while the plant continues producing from its center, extending the harvest window well into spring or fall. With moderate water needs and a preference for full sun, it adapts well to both direct seeding and transplanting, making it accessible for gardeners of any experience level.
Full Sun
Moderate
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Moderate
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The real appeal of Devil's Tongue Lettuce lies in its extended harvest potential. Rather than being a one-time cut-and-done crop, you can pick outer leaves continuously as they mature, allowing the inner crown to keep growing and producing fresh greens for weeks. Its frost tolerance means you can push plantings into shoulder seasons when most lettuce bolts or struggles, and the 55-day timeline from seed to first harvest keeps the gratification quick.
Devil's Tongue Lettuce is primarily used fresh in salads, where its tender leaves and quick maturity make it especially valuable for spring and fall gardens. The leaf-by-leaf harvesting method allows gardeners to gather just what they need for a meal while keeping the rest of the plant growing, making it particularly suited to small-space and container growing where continuous harvesting extends the season's usefulness.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your anticipated transplant date. Keep soil at 60-70°F for optimal germination.
Transplant seedlings outdoors once they have developed 2-3 true leaves. Harden off seedlings before moving them to the garden.
Direct sow seeds as soon as soil is workable in spring or 8-10 weeks before your first fall frost. Use row cover at seeding to improve germination and prevent soil crusting.
Begin harvesting individual outer leaves once the plant has reached usable size, typically around 55 days from seeding. Harvest by removing outer leaves from the base of the plant, allowing the inner leaves to continue growing and the crown to produce more foliage. This method can extend the harvest over several weeks. Eventually all plants will begin to bolt and become bitter as temperatures warm; check daily for leaves ready to pick and harvest before this transition occurs.
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