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Firm flesh and relatively few seeds. Low acidity.
Suitable for slicing or canning.
Heirloom from the early 1900s.

From Volume 6 of the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, 1851:

"Neapolitan Cabbage Lettuce - - Laitue Chou de Naples, from Messrs. Vilmorin.
...
Compact, finely blanched, crisp and tender. Leaves having the margins dentate and and a little curled. As in the last season, so in this, it has proved the best Cabbage Lettuce."

The Italian word "ciucca" might mean: "binge", "spree", "romp", "drunk", "foolish" or "pacifier".

This is the same species as common lettuce (Lactuca sativa). The variety name is sometimes given as var. asparagina or angustata as well as augustana,

The crispy/tender/firm, edible, celery-shaped stem is eaten raw or cooked, like a milder-flavored peeled broccoli stem. Leaves can be used as bitter greens.

Celtuce is a cool season crop (15-20 C). It bolts easily in heat, dry soil, or infertile soil.
Seeds germinate better in cool soil, and may be transplanted from cells or trays..

This OP variety of Lactuca sativa was introduced from China to the USA in the 1840's. It was mainly grown in Southern China.

Originally from France, called 'Laitue Lorthols'. Peter Henderson & Co. introduced it to the USA as 'Big Boston' in the late 1800's. A.K.A 'Trocadero', 'Tate's Forcing White', and 'Giant White Forcing'.

White seeded.

'Speckled' originated in Holland (ca. 1660), then was popular in Germany.

The Martin family may have brought it from Lancaster County, PA to Ontario by covered wagon in 1799.

It arrived in Waterloo County, Ontario in the late 1790's and was passed down through several generations of a Canadian family.

http://www.dianeseeds.com/lett...
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ind...
http://www.heritageharvestseed...

'Pirat' is a lettuce variety from Germany, bred from the French heirloom 'Merveille des Quatre Saisons.' It resists bolting better than the notoriously fast-bolting Marvel of Four Seasons. "Pirat" is one of the German words for "Pirate."

It is also known as 'Sprenkel' (German for "speckle").

Another name is "Brauner Trotzkopf," meaning "brown something-head." Some seed vendors call the red speckles "brown."

Perhaps "Brauner Trotzkopf" is understood as "brown stubborn-head" or "brown tenacious-head" because it resists bolting. (Other possibilities include "brave head" and "defiant head.")

'Cracoviensis' grows fast and may become large, but it bolts very quickly in heat. The leaves don't coarsen and become bitter, though.

The bolting seed stalks are also sweet and edible: raw like celery or peeled and eaten like asparagus (like flowering Bok Choy - Yu Choy Sum).

Leaves are red and green, with a splotch of darker purple in the center of the rosette.

'Cracoviensis' is a "four-season" lettuce - it's very cold-hardy and has over-wintered in NJ and MA.

'Cracoviensis' is a French heirloom. Vilmorin-Andrieux called it a distinct type ("Asparagus Lettuce"), in The Vegetable Garden, (the 1885 edition. not 1981). Vilmorin called it "Red Celtuce"

Green loose-leaf, Oakleaf type lettuce 6 inches to 12 inches tall
28 days to be ready for baby leaf, cut-&-come-again harvest
45 days to maturity
'Tango'-shaped leaves, but darker, shinier and slower-growing than 'Tango'.
Sergeant's leaves branch very close to the base.
Seedlings emerge in 3-5 days at 65-68 degrees F soil temperature
Sow every three weeks

30 to 36 inches tall, 60 DTM,
Pods are OK at 3.5 to 4 inches, but are more tender at 2.5".
'Avalanche' is a semi-leafless variety with many tendrils that can be used as garnishes (semi-afila type).
Each node sets 2 pods
Sow 1 inch to 1.5 inches apart, in a 3" band, 1/2 inch to 1 inch deep. Don't thin therm.
Always inoculate peas. Eat fresh or freeze.

'7-Green' is an F1 hybrid variety with smooth leaves. Seeds saved from your crop will not come true.
DTM 36 days.
pH 6.5 to 7.5 (prefers at least 6).

DS Spring ASAP. DS late July-Sept for fall. It may over-winter.
Sow ½" deep. Sow 10 seeds per foot to harvest bunches of leaves.
For baby leaf, sow in a 2-4" band, ¾" apart, around 40 seeds/ft.

Green Bibb type lettuce with a small, loose head.
Harvest baby leaves, large outer leaves or the whole cluster around 28 days.
Leaves are smooth, thick, crisp, tender and dark green. They bruise and spoil easily.
Creamy flavor.

Lettuce is a cool season crop best grown in early spring or late fall. Keep uniformly moist and cool. All or most lettuce varieties are cold hardy. Some varieties are cold hardy down to 20 degrees F if hardened off gradually before transplanting out.

Most varieties prefer cool soil temperatures for germination, e.g. 68 degrees F or cooler. Germination will occur in soil as cold as 40 degrees F, just more slowly. Most varieties have poor germination in soil above 75 degrees F.

Mulch is advantageous and reduces mud splatter. Lettuce is suitable for starting and growing in containers and/or greenhouses.

Most lettuces can't stand any heat, but some varieties have been selected to have some warmth tolerance (like Romaine). Most will become bitter and then bolt.

However, it is easy to collect seed from lettuce that will "come true" to its parents, even if grown right next to other lettuce varieties. Lettuce does not cross-pollinate (or rather, that is very, very rare). Lettuce has "perfect flowers" (self-pollinating before they open). The anthers are fused and completely surround stigma and style.

Let the best plants bolt and go to seed. Protect the seed heads from rain to prevent fungus. When many seeds seem mature, shake the seed heads into a paper bag or pillowcase every few days to collect mature seeds. Or cut the whole plant down when around half of the seeds are mature, but stand it upright indoors and let more seeds mature and dry fully. "Dry" is key! Lettuce seed will remain pretty viable for three years if stored dry.

Expect approximately 850 seeds per gram (24,000 seeds per ounce).

Sow 1/8" deep indoors in flats or small cells 3-4 wks before transplanting, 68 degrees F or cooler. They'll emerge in 3-5 days. Lettuce is hardy to light frost. If sown 4 per inch in flats, prick out after around 2 weeks and grown them on for another 2 weeks in 3/4" to 1" cells.

Or direct sow as early as soil can be worked, 1 inch apart or 3-4 seeds every 8 inches. Thin to 8 inches.
Fall: direct sow ⅛ - ¼" deep as late as six weeks before your last average frost date. Re-sow every three weeks.


Main types of lettuce:

- Looseleaf (var. crispa) Early, fast growing. Non-heading. Good for baby leaves.

- Butterhead (Buttercrunch, Bibb or Boston). Loose head with smooth or slightly oily leaves. Tender and sweet but bruises and soils easily.

- Romaine (var.longfolia) Tall, dense upright head. Tolerates warmer days before bolting.

- Iceberg (var. capitata). Difficult to grow. Will form a compact round head if weather stays cool long enough and all stress is avoided.

Flat tubular stems 3/8" wide and 12"-18" tall.
75-90 days to bloom.
Perennial Zones 4-9. Divide clumps every 3-4 years. Clumps expand slowly.
Allium tuberosum reseeds invasively if you don't deadhead them.
'New Belt' is larger and darker green than many other garlic chive varieties.

Culinary herb, or use for cut flowers. or bouquets.
Use fresh or dried, green or blanched - mild garlic flavor.

Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost. Sow several per plug. Emerges in 7-14 days.
Thin to 3-4 per plug. Transplant clumps 6-8" apart (18" rows).

Or direct sow 1/4" deep, as soon as soil warms.
Sow 4-6 seeds every 6-8", or 1-2 seeds / inch.
Thin to 2-3 plants every 6-8".

Tyfon (Brassica rapa) is a cross between a stubble turnip and a Chinese cabbage. It was originally bred for forage, and is used as a cover crop and as a compost crop.

However, young leaves are tender, mild and highly nutritious in salad or as greens. Very easy to grow and very fast growing. Best when young and tender. "Cut and come again" at 30-40 day intervals if cut at one inch. Older leaves get hairy and are better cooked as mild greens that absorb other flavors well. If the plant does bolt, the leaves actually get milder, more succulent, and less hairy.

Sow 12" rows in late spring after soil has warmed, and thin to 6" spacing, or broadcast as a cover crop. Tolerates crowding. Prefers full sun and loose, well drained soil with moderate to good fertility, but grows well in any reasonable soil, even heavy clay. Hardy and bolt resistant to 10° F, but will bolt in heat. May overwinter.

Alternate sowing recommendation:
" Plant seed 4" apart 4-6 weeks before the last spring frost or 8-10 weeks before the first fall frost, or later in mild winter areas."

http://www.recipetips.com/glos...
http://www.nicholsgardennurser...

'Bloomsdale Long Standing" spinach is more bolt-resistant than the original Bloomsdale variety. It "stands" well in hot weather

'Bloomsdale' was originally released by D. Landreth & Company in the 19th Century.

'Long Standing Bloomsdale' was bred by Zwaan and Van der Molen in the Netherlands, and introduced in 1925

45 DTM (early). Dark green, crumpled leaves.
Approximately 75 seeds per gram, or 2,100 per ounce.

65 DTM. Short bush.
Pods have thick, fleshy walls.
Pick often to encourage more pods, but older pods do remain crisp and sweet

Based on my reading, not my experience:
60-70 DTM, very early for so large a fruit.
Lemon-yellow with bright yellow interior.
Somewhat acidic (in a good way), citrus flavor, not sweet or fruity.

5-10 ounce oblate fruit, or slightly flattened globe. A few photos show deep lobes.
A friend grew some seeds out from Victory Seeds and some plants had both round and oval fruits.

Bred in Russia by a hobby gardener (Valentina Petrovna Kruglova), perhaps before the 1980s.
"Azochka" (Азочка) is a Russian Jewish nickname for an Arabic female name, "Aza", which means "comfort".
Tatania says that the original name was 'Azochka' without the "y", and it has also been called 'Zolotoy Borago',
http://tatianastomatobase.com/...

Peas are cool-weather crops usually direct-sown 1" to 1.5" deep as soon as soil can be worked in the spring.
Sow 1",apart, with row spacing 18" to 24". Peas fix nitrogen if the seeds are innoculated.
Optimum soil temperature for germination is 40 to 75 F. They emerge in 8 to 25 days.

Soak peas before sowing. If cold wet soil causes too many peas to rot before emerging, consider sprouting them on a wet paper towel indoors, then planting them within 12 hours of the root emerging.

Pole varieties need a stake, strings, net, fence or trellis for support. Bush varieties may not need support, but may benefit from one or two horizontal strings. Most bush varieties mature all at once, so sow more every two weeks.

Peas prefer full sun and well drained soil. They benefit from rich organic soil and/or fertilization. Side dress with one cup complete fertilizer and 1/2 cup of bone meal per 5 row feet. Mulching and frequent ground watering keeps roots cool. Reduce mildew by avoiding overhead watering.

Snap peas are sweeter if the pods are allowed to fatten up before harvest, but then you may have to remove a string. Snap peas have a higher yield than other types of peas.

Snow pea pods are most tender when small and flat (peas undeveloped). Some varieties like Oregon Sugar Pod II stay sweet (not starchy) even when pods are fat with fairly big peas.

Taiwan White Leaf Lettuce
Heat and cold tolerant. Maturity ~40 days.
Tall plant with round, very light green leaves. Very tender.
From Tainong Seeds.