Green Deer Tongue Lettuce is a compact, loose-leaf variety that delivers tender harvests in just 50 days from direct seeding. Named for its distinctively shaped leaves that taper to a point like a deer's tongue, this frost-tolerant lettuce thrives in cool seasons and handles the unpredictability of spring and fall gardening with ease. It grows tight and neat, requiring minimal space, and produces leaves ready to harvest before summer heat drives most lettuces bitter.
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The narrow, tapered leaves are unmistakable in the garden and on the plate, with a delicate texture that sets it apart from the broad-leaved loose-leaf types. It matures fast enough to fit into succession plantings every two to three weeks, giving you continuous harvests throughout the season without waiting months. Its frost tolerance means you can plant earlier in spring and later into fall than most other lettuces, effectively extending your growing window on both ends.
Green Deer Tongue works beautifully in salads where its slender, tender leaves are delicate enough to eat whole without the tough midribs that anchor larger varieties. Its quick maturity and harvestable-leaf-by-leaf nature make it especially practical for small households or gardeners who prefer picking individual leaves as needed rather than harvesting entire heads at once.
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Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your anticipated transplant date. Keep soil temperature between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit for reliable germination.
Transplant seedlings outdoors once they have developed 2 to 3 true leaves. Space plants 1 inch apart with rows 16 inches apart.
Direct sow seeds outdoors when soil temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Use row cover to improve germination and prevent soil crusting. Thin seedlings once 2 to 3 true leaves have formed.
Harvest individual leaves from the outside of the plant, allowing the inner leaves to continue growing for ongoing production. You can continue picking outer leaves daily as they become ready throughout the season. All leaves eventually become bitter as the plant begins to bolt, so monitor your lettuce closely and harvest before this happens. For a complete harvest, cut the entire plant about 1 inch above the soil line, or remove the whole plant once you've taken what you need.
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