Bauer lettuce is an award-winning dark green oakleaf variety that delivers tender, flavorful leaves in just 43 days from transplants. This open-pollinated cultivar thrives in cool weather and resists three significant lettuce diseases: Downy Mildew, Lettuce Mosaic Virus, and TBSV. Its compact growth habit and tight 1-inch spacing make it efficient for small gardens and succession planting, while its frost tolerance extends your harvest window into shoulder seasons.
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Bauer stands out as a disease-resistant oakleaf that combines the award-winning credentials of a carefully bred variety with the reliability of open-pollinated genetics. At just 43 days to maturity from transplants, it produces quickly without sacrificing the tender, deeply lobed leaves that make oakleaf lettuce distinctive. The combination of Downy Mildew, Lettuce Mosaic Virus, and TBSV resistance addresses three major lettuce challenges, making this variety genuinely practical for home growers tired of crop failures.
Bauer lettuce is grown for fresh salads and as a loose-leaf harvest variety. You can pick individual outer leaves as they mature while allowing inner leaves to continue growing, extending your harvest over several weeks. Its dark green oakleaf form works beautifully in mixed green bowls and salad mixes, where its visual appeal and tender texture shine.
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Start Bauer lettuce indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your anticipated transplant date. Sow seed at a germination temperature between 60°F and 70°F, keeping conditions cool since germination is best below 70°F. Expect roughly 16,000 plants per ounce of seed.
Transplant seedlings outdoors as soon as your soil can be worked in early spring or when conditions cool in late summer. Plant at 1-inch spacing in rows 16 inches apart. Bauer's frost tolerance means you can set out transplants while soil is still cool, taking advantage of the earliest working season.
Direct sow Bauer lettuce seed as soon as soil can be worked. Use row cover to improve germination and prevent soil crusting. Note that days to maturity from direct seeding may extend to 55 days in some growing conditions, compared to 43 days from transplants.
Begin harvesting outer leaves once the plant has established enough growth, typically 43 days after transplanting. Harvest individual leaves from the outside, allowing inner leaves to continue growing and extending your harvest window. You can also cut the entire plant about 1 inch above the soil for a single head harvest. Check plants daily as they mature, since all eventually become bitter as they begin to bolt. Extended harvests are possible by consistently removing outer leaves while leaving the growing center intact.
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