Lamb's lettuce

Origin & history

Lamb’s lettuce began as an arable weed in the grain fields of Central Europe and was gathered from the wild for centuries before it was deliberately cultivated from the 16th and 17th centuries — hence the German name Feldsalat, “field salad”. Botanically it is not a lettuce at all but a relative of valerian. Few vegetables carry so many regional names: Ackersalat, Rapunzel and Mausohrsalat in Germany, Nüsslisalat in Switzerland, Vogerlsalat in Austria.

Varieties

Large-leaved, fast-growing varieties such as “Holländischer Breitblättriger” give plenty of bulk in early autumn but are only moderately winter-hardy. For picking from December onwards use the small-leaved, dark green types — “Vit”, “Verte de Cambrai” or “Dunkelgrüner Vollherziger” — which take more frost and rot less readily where they stand. Lamb’s lettuce is sold almost exclusively as open-pollinated seed, and the seed is cheap: sow generously and thin the rows later.

Care

The soil must not have been freshly manured — lamb’s lettuce gets by on what the previous crop left behind. Watering the drill is what matters: above roughly 20 °C soil temperature the seed germinates badly, so for August sowings water the furrow and shade it with a board or fleece until the first seedlings are up. Germination is slow anyway, often two weeks. The bed has to go into winter weed-free, because you cannot hoe between the flat rosettes later on.

What can go wrong

In crowded stands the rosettes stay wet for days after rain, and then grey mould and downy mildew set in: yellow leaves, grey coatings, mushy hearts. So sow in rows 15 cm apart rather than broadcasting, air the fleece on mild days and take yellowed leaves out as you harvest. The second typical mistake is rotation: lamb’s lettuce should not go on the same bed year after year, or the pathogens build up in the soil.

Harvest, storage & kitchen

Cut it off with a sharp knife just above the root so the rosette stays together — picking single leaves is fiddly and they fall apart. Wash thoroughly in several changes of water: there is nearly always grit between the leaves of a rosette sitting that close to the ground. After frost it tastes nuttier, because the plant lays down sugar. Loosely bagged it keeps about three days in the fridge.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my lamb’s lettuce flowering?

That is simply its rhythm: it grows through winter and sends up a flower stalk from March as the days lengthen and warm, with the flowers opening in April. Beds sown in early August run up first, an October sowing holds on longer. Cut whatever is left fairly quickly.

Can you still eat lamb’s lettuce once it flowers?

Yes, it stays edible, including the tiny whitish-blue flowers. The leaves do go narrow and tough and lose flavour, though, so there is nothing to wait for. Let two or three plants finish flowering: they seed themselves, and the first rosettes stand in the bed unaided next autumn.

When do you sow lamb’s lettuce?

Direct sow from the beginning of August to early October, about 1 cm deep — the later you sow, the smaller the rosettes stay. Give it two to three weeks to come up, longer if the soil is still warm. Picking starts in early October and runs all winter until the end of March.

Is lamb’s lettuce winter hardy?

Yes, thoroughly so: it survives frost and a covering of snow outdoors and is cut rosette by rosette until the end of March. Fleece is mainly there for your own comfort and keeps the leaves clean. In a long freeze, leave the rosettes alone and cut only once they have thawed.

Is lamb’s lettuce a good choice for a raised bed?

Yes, and the timing fits: a raised bed usually falls empty in August, and as a late follow-on crop lamb’s lettuce lives on what the previous crop left behind. In summer, though, a raised bed is warmer and drier than open ground, so shade the drill until the seedlings are up and keep it moist. In winter you pick without bending.