Buttercrunch Lettuce Vegetable Seeds Packet

• Prepared garden bed or seed trays: Lettuce can be direct sown or started in trays; both work.
• Seed-starting mix: If starting indoors, a fine mix gives tiny seed good contact.
• Fine-rose watering can or mister: Waters shallow-sown seed without washing it away.
• Shade cloth or row cover: Extends the season on either end of summer heat.
• Plant labels: Useful for tracking succession sowings every couple of weeks.

• Sharp knife or scissors: Cut the head at the base for a clean harvest, or take outer leaves one at a time.
• Basket or bowl: For collecting heads or leaves.
• Damp towel or produce bags: Wrap and refrigerate straight after harvest to keep the leaves crisp.

Tip: Harvest in the morning when the leaves are cool and crisp, and cut before the center starts to elongate, which signals bolting.

Light:

• Prefers full sun in cool weather and part shade in heat (about 4-8 hours of sun).

Soil:

• Loose, fertile, well-drained soil, pH 6.0-7.0, with compost worked in before sowing.

Watering:

• Requires consistent moisture, since lettuce roots are shallow.
• Water in the morning at soil level; dry spells make leaves bitter.

Temperature & Climate:

• Grows well in cool weather, 60-70°F. Buttercrunch tolerates warm weather better than most soft-leaf lettuces but still bolts in sustained heat.

Fertilization:

• Work compost into the bed before sowing.
• Side-dress lightly with a balanced fertilizer mid-season; excess nitrogen gives soft, leafy growth that rots more easily.

Thinning:

• Thin seedlings to the final spacing once they have two true leaves, and eat the thinnings as baby greens.

Mulching:

• A light mulch of straw or shredded leaves keeps soil cool and moist and keeps leaves off the ground.

Succession Sowing:

• Sow a short row every two weeks in cool weather for a steady supply, and again in late summer.

Watering:

• Keep soil evenly moist; avoid overhead watering late in the day, which invites mildew.

Harvesting:

• Cut the whole head at the base once it is full and loose, or pick outer leaves as the plant grows.
• Harvest in the morning when leaves are cool and crisp.

Storing:

• Rinse, dry well, and store loosely wrapped in the refrigerator for up to a week.

• Sowing too late into summer: Buttercrunch holds up in heat better than most soft-leaf lettuces, but it is still a cool-season crop; sow early and again in late summer
• Warm soil at sowing: lettuce seed germinates poorly in hot soil; sow in cooler weather or shade the bed
• Uneven watering: dry spells make leaves bitter and encourage tipburn

1. Culinary Applications:

• Loose butterhead leaves in salads and sandwiches
• Lettuce wraps, since the thick, buttery leaves hold fillings
• A base for simple dressings that do not overwhelm the mild flavor
• Lightly braised or wilted into soups when the harvest runs ahead

2. Nutritional Benefits:

• Source of folate and vitamin K in typical butterhead ranges
• Low in calories and high in water content
• Provides fiber and potassium in modest amounts

3. Garden Uses:

• Heat-tolerant, slower-bolting Bibb type for succession sowing
• Compact heads suit raised beds and containers
• A 1963 All-America Selections winner with a long track record

4. Practical Benefits:

• Quick to mature, so it fills gaps between slower crops
• Thinnings double as baby greens
• Worth planning for: sow early and again in late summer

• Leaves: The edible part: loose, buttery heads eaten raw in salads and sandwiches, or tucked into wraps.
• Thinnings: Young seedlings pulled while thinning work as baby greens.

Butterhead lettuce, raw, per 100g (standard reference value for Bibb and Boston types)

Calories: 13 kcal

• Carbohydrates: 2.23 g
• Protein: 1.35 g
• Total fat: 0.22 g
• Dietary fiber: 1.1 g
• Vitamin C: 3.7 mg (4% RDA)
• Folates: 73 µg (18% RDA)
• Potassium: 238 mg
• Vitamin K: 102 µg
• Cholesterol: 0 mg

Good companions

• Carrots, radishes: different root depths and little competition; radishes mature before lettuce needs the space
• Onions, garlic, chives: the scent may help deter aphids
• Strawberries, cucumbers, tall crops: lettuce tolerates the light shade they cast, which helps in warm weather

Poor companions / avoid

• Cabbage family (broccoli, cabbage, kale): reported to compete for nutrients and space
• Celery, parsley: sometimes reported as poor neighbors in tight beds

• Aphids: cluster on leaf undersides and in the heart; strong water spray or insecticidal soap
• Slugs and snails: ragged holes and slime trails, worst in damp weather; handpick or use iron phosphate bait
• Cutworms: cut young seedlings at the base; use collars around transplants

• Downy mildew: yellow patches with gray fuzz underneath in cool, damp weather; space plants and avoid overhead watering
• Bottom rot (Sclerotinia drop): heads wilt and rot where they touch wet soil; keep leaves off the ground and avoid crowding
• Lettuce mosaic virus: mottled, stunted leaves, spread through seed and aphids; remove infected plants and control aphids
• Tipburn: brown leaf edges, a physiological problem tied to fast growth and uneven watering rather than a pathogen; water evenly

Direct sow as soon as the soil can be worked, 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep, and thin to 8 to 12 inches apart. Keep soil evenly moist in a spot with full sun in cool weather and part shade in heat.

More than most soft-leaf lettuces. Buttercrunch is slower to bolt in warm weather, but it is still a cool-season crop, so sow early in spring and again in late summer for the sweetest heads.

Roughly 55 to 65 days from sowing. Baby leaves can be picked sooner, and small batches sown every couple of weeks keep the harvest steady.

Mild and sweet, with thick, buttery leaves and a tender, loose head. The texture is the draw, soft without being limp.

Yes. Heads grow 6 to 8 inches tall and 8 to 10 inches wide, so a container at least 6 inches deep with good drainage works, spaced one plant per 8 to 12 inches.

Vacuum-sealed Shido Seeds packets stay viable for up to 10 years when stored properly, compared to roughly one year for a standard paper seed packet. Storing unused packets somewhere cool and dry helps preserve that extended shelf life.

Bibb is a small, loose-headed butterhead lettuce first developed in Kentucky in the 1800s. Buttercrunch is a Cornell selection built on that Bibb type, with a larger head and better heat tolerance.

Yes. Every Shido Seeds packet, Buttercrunch included, is germination-tested at independent third-party labs before it ever reaches a shelf.