Emerald Oak Lettuce Info
What is Emerald Oak lettuce? This cultivar is a cross between two other lettuce varieties: Blushed Butter Oak and Deer Tongue. It was originally developed in 2003 by Frank and Karen Morton, owners of Wild Garden Seed, who over the years have bred countless new kinds of greens. It is apparently a favorite on the Morton farm. The lettuce grows in dense, compact heads of rounded leaves that are a shade of bright green you could easily describe as “emerald.” It has juicy, buttery heads that are known for their flavor. It can be harvested young for baby salad greens, or it can be grown to maturity and harvested all at once for its tasty outer leaves and pleasant, tightly packed hearts. It is especially resistant to tipburn, yet another plus.
Growing Emerald Oak Lettuce at Home
The lettuce “Emerald Oak” variety can be grown much like any other kind of lettuce. It likes neutral soil, though it can tolerate some acidity or alkalinity. It needs moderate water and partial to full sun, and it grows best in cool weather. When temperatures get too high, it will bolt. That means it should be planted either in early spring (a few weeks before the last frost of spring) or late summer for a fall crop. You can sow your seeds directly in the ground under a thin layer of soil, or start them indoors even earlier and transplant them out as the last frost approaches. Heads of the Emerald Oak lettuce variety take about 60 days to reach maturity, but small individual leaves can be harvested earlier.
