Let Us Praise Lettuce:
The Best Varieties to Grow in Raised Garden Beds
When it comes to cultivating beauty, nutrition, and satisfaction in your raised garden beds, few crops deliver quite like lettuce. Fast-growing, compact, and surprisingly diverse, lettuces are an ideal choice for Kris Hopkins Raised Gardens, whether you’re stacking your beds high or planting in ergonomic seated configurations. They also hold an honored place in traditional apothecary gardens, valued not only as a food but as a cooling, soothing herb used for centuries.
In this feature, we explore the best varieties of lettuce to grow — including looseleaf, butterhead, crisphead, and romaine types — and provide guidance on succession planting, companion herbs, and raised bed strategies for a lush and productive harvest.
🌱 Why Lettuce Loves Raised Beds
Raised beds offer better soil control, superior drainage, and protection from pests like slugs. Lettuces, with their shallow roots and quick growth cycles, respond beautifully in these conditions — especially when planted in 18" or 36" Kris Hopkins Raised Gardens, which make for easy harvesting and reseeding.
🧺 Top Lettuce Varieties to Grow
Here are our top picks based on taste, beauty, growth habit, and performance in raised bed gardens:
1. Butterhead – ‘Buttercrunch’
Flavor: Mild and sweet, with a tender, buttery texture.
Growth Tip: Heat-tolerant for a butterhead, grows well spring through early summer.
Why We Love It: Great for sandwich wraps and herbal-infused salads.
2. Looseleaf – ‘Red Sails’
Flavor: Mild with a slightly nutty edge.
Growth Tip: Harvest outer leaves continuously.
Why We Love It: Gorgeous bronze-red color adds ornamental flair to your herbal garden bed.
3. Romaine – ‘Parris Island Cos’
Flavor: Crisp and fresh with a satisfying crunch.
Growth Tip: Taller growth, so space accordingly in center rows.
Why We Love It: The perfect carrier for Caesar-style herbal dressings with infused vinegars or yogurt-mint sauces.
4. Crisphead – ‘Great Lakes’
Flavor: Classic iceberg style – crisp and refreshing.
Growth Tip: Best for cooler climates, needs more time to form heads.
Why We Love It: A nostalgic crunch for herbal ranch dressings and classic farm-style meals.
5. Looseleaf – ‘Salad Bowl Green & Red’ Mix
Flavor: Light and flavorful with visual variety.
Growth Tip: Perfect for succession planting every 2 weeks.
Why We Love It: Blends well with tender herbal leaves like dill, basil, and tarragon.
🌿 Herbal Companions & Apothecary Garden Tie-ins
Lettuces make excellent neighbors for calming herbs such as:
Chamomile – Improves germination and deters pests.
Borage – Draws in pollinators and improves growth.
Dill – Pairs beautifully in both the garden and the salad bowl.
Lemon Balm – Adds a refreshing, herbal citrus element to your harvest basket.
In traditional apothecary gardens, lettuce was used for:
Cooling compresses (light poultices for mild sun irritation).
Sleep and relaxation tonics (mild lactucarium extracts from heirloom varieties).
🧠 Tips for Raised Bed Lettuce Success
Succession Plant Every 2–3 Weeks: Especially looseleaf and butterheads.
Partial Shade in Summer: Lettuce prefers cooler roots. Use shade cloth or plant near taller herbs like fennel.
Elevated Comfort Gardening: Use our stacked Kris Hopkins beds with seating kits to enjoy planting, thinning, and harvesting at waist height.
Moisture Matters: Lettuce thrives with consistent watering — consider self-watering options or morning irrigation to prevent wilting.
🧺 Harvest & Herbal Table Ideas
Don’t just grow lettuce — use it as a canvas for herbal creativity:
Herbal Pesto Wraps with basil, mint, or parsley.
Garden-Inspired Lettuce Cups with rosemary chicken or sage lentils.
Infused Vinaigrettes featuring chive blossom or elderflower vinegar.
Cooling Herbal Salads with cucumbers, mint, and yogurt drizzle.
Final Thoughts
Whether you're growing for culinary delight or herbal connection, lettuce deserves a central role in your raised bed planning. Fast, forgiving, and full of personality, these leafy greens provide the perfect opportunity to showcase beauty, nutrition, and simplicity — the very spirit of Simples & Worts and the innovation behind Kris Hopkins Raised Gardens.
Until next time...
I am...
Phil Wilson...
And, here’s to Living an Herbal Lifestyle With You!