The six subspecies or botanical varieties of lettuce are crisphead lettuce (iceberg and Batavian), Romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, Latin lettuce, leaf lettuce, and stem lettuce. Green oak leaf lettuce is a type of butter lettuce. It got its name because the leaves of this kind of lettuce look like oak leaves. Green oak leaf lettuce was called Baltimore oak leaf and Philadelphia oak leaf in the 1880s.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Lactuca
Species: L. sativa
Binomial name: Lactuca sativa
Green Oak Leaf Lettuce Trivia
- There are six botanical varieties of lettuce and all of them except one (iceberg) appear in both red and green.
- Growers know that when lettuces are overcrowded or get too much sun, they tend to develop a bitter flavor. The good thing with green oak leaf lettuce is it rarely gets bitter. Really hot weather is known to make lettuce taste bitter, but oak leaf lettuce has proven that it is capable of keeping its original flavor despite growing in hot weather.
- Green oak leaf lettuce is more heat tolerant compared to crisphead lettuce.
Green Oak Leaf Lettuce Buying Guide
Follow the standard guidelines for buying fresh vegetables – check the condition of the leaves for discoloration, damage, holes, bruising, and wilting. The best green oak leaf lettuce is green in color, sturdy, and firm when touched, indicating that the leaves will be crunchy or crispy when it is consumed raw. Smell the lettuce. There should be no bad or foul smell.
It usually does not matter what kind of botanical variety of lettuce is sold, but if you want to know what kind of lettuce you are looking at when you are at the supermarket or grocery, consider these things:
- This lettuce typically has a compact head and a quilted leaf texture.
- The leaves of a green oak leaf lettuce are linear, lobed, and loosely serrated, forming a semi-tight rosette at the base and growing upward and outward.
Besides green oak leaf lettuce, there are other types like red oak leaf lettuce and gold oak leaf lettuce.
Besides fresh green oak leaf lettuce, you can also buy seeds if you are thinking of planting green oak leaf lettuce in your garden. A 1-oz pack contains approximately 6,800 seeds while a 25-pound pack contains approximately 2,730,000 seeds.
Yes, you can grow non-GMO green oak leaf lettuce!
Green Oak Leaf Lettuce Production & Farming in Texas
Green oak leaf lettuce can be grown in both warm and cool climates, and the good news is that it can tolerate cold temperatures.
Seeds require a planting depth of 1/8 inch, a 1-inch plant spacing, and 2-inch row spacing. Overcrowding will result in bitter-tasting lettuce. When planting green oak leaf lettuce, make sure the soil is moist and well-draining. Full sun or partial shade will do for green oak leaf lettuce. You can harvest after 55 days.
Texas is divided into five gardening regions with designated hardiness zones starting at 6 through 9B. Green oak leaf lettuce grows in US Hardiness Zones 3 to 9. This means you can plant green oak leaf lettuce anywhere in Texas.
Pesticides:
Commercially-produced green oak leaf lettuce could contain traces of chemicals as a result of using different pesticides to fight off pests.
- Aphids – Kill aphids using neem oil, insecticidal soap, or horticultural oil. You can also use the pesticide malathion, which is the most commonly used organophosphate insecticide in the United States, or rotenone, a selective, non-specific insecticide typically used in home gardens for insect control.
- Loopers – To kill this pest, use Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray, insecticidal soap spray, or anti-parasite spray spinosad.
- Beetles – The use of man-made pesticide carbaryl or Beauveria bassiana is the solution to rid of beetles. Other options include pyrethroid insecticides like cyfluthrin and Lambda cyhalothrin, pesticide malathion, pyrethrin spray, permethrin insecticide, and spinosad.
- Worms – To protect plants from worms, farmers use pesticides such as carbaryl, pyrethroid insecticides like cyfluthrin, and the insecticide permethrin, neem, spinosad, or chlorpyrifos (an organophosphate pesticide).
Geography:
Ancient Egyptians cultivated lettuce which is sacred to them. Later on, the Greeks and the Romans started cultivating lettuce as well.
Lettuce is grown all around the world. China, the US, India, and Spain are four major producers of lettuce. Green oak leaf lettuce is easy to grow in different climates. It is not surprising to find it in many parts of the world.
Packaging:
You’ll find green oak leaf lettuce sold in groceries and supermarkets in plastic packaging.
- Some come in round or rectangular waterproof transparent clamshell boxes with a lid made of PET material that can be used both for storage or display.
- Some companies prefer to use a sealable and reclosable transparent vented plastic produce bag made with high-clarity lamination film. The stiff material provides strength for product protection. This is important because green oak leaf lettuce leaves are tender and susceptible to bruising.
- You’ll also find green oak leaf lettuce sold in plastic packaging with a Grab and Go handle for convenience.
- Another packaging option for green oak leaf lettuce is the vented stand-up produce pouch. The design of the bag allows it to stand upright, which is ideal for display and storage purposes.
- Companies that seek to be environment-friendly opt for packaging made from recycled materials like recycled PET and post-consumer recycled PET.
- It may not be explicitly stated in some packaging, but there is also green oak leaf lettuce packaging made from plant-based plastics (PLA).
Enjoying Green Oak Leaf Lettuce
Green oak leaf lettuce is crisp and has a buttery texture. When you eat green oak leaf lettuce, you will notice it has a nutty, sweet flavor.
Storage:
Put green oak leaf lettuce wrapped in paper towels inside a sealed container before refrigerating them. This way, you can preserve your green oak leaf lettuce for as long as ten days.
When storing green oak leaf lettuce in the refrigerator, make sure there is no fruit there that can cause the lettuce to wilt faster. Fruits like bananas, apples, and pears can do this, as a result of the natural gas these fruits release.
Cooking:
You can eat green oak leaf lettuce raw or use it for cooking. You can cut green oak leaf lettuce to smaller sizes depending on what you are making. It could be garden salad, hamburger, sandwich, or wrapped food like rolls and burritos. Green oak leaf lettuce is used in a wide variety of culinary applications. It is good for recipes that require braising, boiling, or sautéing. Use it when making soup.
The flavor of green oak leaf lettuce enhances the flavor of food made or cooked with other flavorful ingredients like olive oil, red wine vinegar, deli meats, salt and pepper, arugula, dijon mustard, garlic, shallots, cumin, parsley, and chervil. Use it alongside fruits like oranges or pears. It is also delicious with carrots, green peas, walnuts, or almonds, with poached eggs or crusty bread, or with seafood like tuna and shrimp.
Nutritional Benefits:
Green oak leaf lettuce contains vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin C, vitamin K, molybdenum, dietary fiber, manganese, potassium, copper, and iron. Eating green oak leaf lettuce will help improve digestion. Green oak leaf lettuce has folate which is good for pregnant women.
