BUTTERCRUNCH
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR BUTTERCRUNCH:
- Fresh: Rinse and eat immediately. Perfect for salads, sandwiches and lettuce wraps.
- Refrigerate: Store unwashed leaves loosely wrapped in a paper towel in the fridge until ready to use (discard after a week).
- Lettuce wraps: Use the whole leaf as a wrap for chicken, shrimp, tofu, or anything you love.
- Baby greens: Eager to try your lettuce? You can harvest very young leaves for a delicate little salad green!
Info
GROW YOUR OWN FOOD
USDA Hardiness Zone
Buttercrunch lettuce grows as an annual in zones 2 to 11. This is a cool season crop. Plant in early spring or fall. If you live in zones 9 or above, start seeds in fall to avoid summer's humidity.
Tap to Find Your Zone
A USDA hardiness zone map shows you the average annual extreme minimum temperature in your area. This helps you know which plants can survive there.
FULL SUNLIGHT
Buttercrunch lettuce needs at least 6 hours of full sunshine per day. Morning sun is ideal as it gives the plant light without intense afternoon heat.
IN EXTREME HEAT, PROVIDE SHADE
If you live in a hotter climate, where the summers get very hot (above 80°F), try to provide the buttercrunch with some afternoon shade. This lettuce variety is known to be more heat-tolerant than other butterhead bibb lettuces, but we still recommend being more cautious during the summer.
Heat stress can cause leaf scorch and early bolting.
KEEP SOIL MOIST
Buttercrunch lettuce loves to be consistently watered. Make sure it has good drainage to prevent soggy soil. Keeping the soil cool and moist is a great way to slow down bolting in warmer weather.
Water at the base of the lettuce head rather than overhead to help prevent fungal issues.
MODERATE HUMIDITY
Indoor humidity or normal outdoor air is typically fine for this lettuce.
Make sure there is good airflow around the plant and try to avoid getting the leaves wet when watering. Excess moisture on the leaves can invite mildew and other fungal issues.
SOIL
Buttercrunch lettuce needs rich, nutrient dense soil that retains some moisture.
The best store bough option is a vegetable or garden potting mix since it’s already formulated for edible plants like lettuce.
If you’d like to boost nutrients, mix in a bit of worm castings or compost.
WORM CASTINGS
WORM CASTINGS
Looks like fine, dark brown granules like moist coffee grounds. This is a natural fertilizer produced by worms that provides nutrients to the soil.
COMPOST
Looks like rich, dark brown crumbly soil with an earthy smell. This is a natural fertilizer made from decomposed organic matter that provides nutrients to the soil.
HARVESTING
ALWAYS USE CLEAN SCISSORS OR HANDS
Once your buttercrunch starts forming its classic "lettuce head" with plump outer leaves, you can harvest!
The cool thing is, you can really start eating this whenever the leaves are big enough to eat. You can snap or cut the outer leaves at the base and the plant will continue to produce new leaves from the center.
HARVESTING THE WHOLE HEAD
When the lettuce head looks full, cut the entire pant at the base with clean scissors. Leave the roots in the soil for a few days to see if the plant regrows a second round of leaves!
HARVEST IN THE MORNING
Buttercrunch, and other lettuce varities, taste best when harvested in the cool morning hours. The leaves will be crisp and at peak flavor.
★ HEIRLOOM SEEDS ★
Buttercrunch lettuce is an heirloom variety. It was developed at Cornell University and won the prestigious All America Selections Gold Medal award in the 1963.
Over 60 years later, we are still talking about (and enjoying) this award-winning lettuce.
COMMON ISSUES
WILTING LEAVES
A possible sign of heat stress. Although buttercrunch lettuce is know to be more heat-tolerant, extremely hot days can cause the leaves to wilt.
If possible, provide afternoon shade during hot spells, and keep the soil consistently moist.
GROWING TALL
If you notice your lettuce plant is suddenly shooting upwards, and the leaves are tasting more bitter, then your plant has started to bolt.
Prevent this by planting in cooler weather, providing afternoon shade on hotter days, and harvest frequently. Once bolted, the leaves are not very tasty.
Once you are at this stage, the best thing to do is to let the lettuce bolt until it flowers. Allow those flowers to go to seed, then collect those seeds to replant more lettuce!
MUSHY BASE
A brown and mushy lettuce base is a clear indicator of overly wet soil. Also known as base rot.
Make sure your container has proper drainage holes and avoid overwatering!
FUZZY PATCHES
This is likely powdery mildew which is a common fungal issue for lettuce if left in humid or crowded conditions.
Make sure to water at the base of the plant. This helps avoid water getting on the leaves. Watering in the morning also helps leaves dry throughout the day. Remove affected leaves.
PESTS
Sometimes issues can be the result of a pest infestation. Watch out for these creepy crawlers:
Aphids
Fungus Gnats
Thrips
