When it comes to easy growing, versatility, and sheer production, nothing beats homegrown lettuce.  And when you consider that supermarket lettuce has been selected for its shipping and storage capacities, not its taste, that alone is a splendid reason to grow your own greens.  With a bit of careful planning and appropriate seed selection, you can grow lettuce year-round.

TYPES OF LETTUCE

Growing your own lettuce allows you to select from hundreds of varieties beyond the familiar "iceberg" types.  Scarcely a year goes by without the introduction of new, improved varieties.

When purchasing seeds, don't be afraid to experiment with unfamiliar lettuces.  Before making your selections, however, consider the five basic types of lettuce and their differences.  If you plant varieties from each type, you'll have delicious homegrown salads all year.

CRISPHEAD.  This type of lettuce forms large, cabbage-like heads.  It requires a long, cool growing season, making it difficult to grow in most areas of the United States.  There are only a few varieities you can grow successfully in a home garden.

FRENCH BATAVIAN.  Also called summer Batavian or loosehead, these varieties start like a looseleaf lettuce, but mature to form "loose" heads similar to crisphead or romaine lettuce.  They are quite heat tolerant.

ROMAINE.  Also called cos lettuce, this type produces tall heads with long, upright leaves and crisp midribs.  Like crispheads, however, they require a long growing season and bolt readily in warm weather.  For most gardeners, they're fall crops.

LOOSELEAF.  These varieties produce headless plants, with leaves developing from a central crown.  Most looseleaf lettuces will continue to produce leaves as you harvest them, and many tolerate heat and are slow to bolt.

BUTTERHEAD.  Also called Bibb, Boston, or limestone lettuce, these varities develop soft, buttery-smooth leaves.  They tend to be heat tolerant, bolt resistant, and superb in flavor.

TOP PICKS - LETTUCE YOU'LL LOVE TO GROW AND EAT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

CRISPHEAD:

"Mini Green" (65 days) Miniature iceberg variety, ideal for limited space or indoor growing.

"Summertime" (70 days) This medium-sized crisphead has excellent heat tolerance.

FRENCH BATAVIAN:

"Nevada Green" (56 days) An apple-green, summer Batavian with the crunch of a romaine and the succulence of a butterhead.  Superb for late spring and summer crops.

"Santa Fe" (55 days) Early variety with bronze-tinged leaves and a bright interior.  Excellent for ornamental use.

"Sierra" (55 days) Open, upright head with bronze-tinted leaves.  Heat tolerant and bolt resistant.

LOOSELEAF:

"Green Ice" (45 days)  Succulent green leaves with excellent flavor and crispness.  Heat tolerant and bolt resistant.

"Lollo Rossa" (50 days) Italian variety with deep red, frilly leaves.  Superb for ornamental use.  Excellent for a fall crop.

"Mighty Red Oak" (50 days) Perhaps the prettiest of the oak-leaf types.  Produces reddish brown leaves and is heat tolerant.

"New Red Fire" (30 days) Very early.  Great cut-and-come-again variety that is bolt resistant.  Frilly leaves are fiery red.

"Royal Oak Leaf" (50 days) Attractive rosettes with deep green leaves that are sweet and succulent even after most lettuces succumb to heat.

ROMAINE:

"Brune D'Hiver" (60 days) Heirloom French variety introduced in 1855.  Has both romaine and butterhead qualities.  Very cold-hardy.

"Corsair" (60 days) Great for fall production.  Large, solid heads.  Good heat tolerance and disease resistance.

"Freckles" (70 days) ONe of the more ornamental romaines.  Produces green leaves mottled with burgundy freckles.

"Jericho" (65 days) Developed in the desert in Israel.  Probably the most heat-resistant and bolt-resistant romaine.

"Little Caesar"  (70 days) Medium-sized romaine ideal for small gardens or containers.

"Little Gem" (40 days) Smallest and earliest of the romaines, yet just as tender and tasty as larger types.  Perfect for container gardens.

"Winter Density" Best romaine for fall plantings.  Great for overwintering; can be grown year-round in many areas.

BUTTERHEAD:

"Artic King" Grows from early fall through winter for the earliest spring crop.  Ideal overwintering lettuce.

"Burpee Bibb" (75 days) Slow to bolt and less subject to tip-burn than others.

"Buttercrunch" (55 days)  One of the most popular for home gardens.  Excellent for spring or fall production.

"North Pole" Extremely cold tolerant, but bolts quickly in heat.  Plant as early as the soil can be worked in the spring.  Can overwinter under cover.

"Tom Thumb" (35 days) Extremely early and well suited for containers or indoor growing.  Produces baseball-sized heads.  Tolerates heat and resists bolting.

SPRING LETTUCE.   Because lettuce is considered a cool-weather crop, most gardeners sow it as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring.  If you want an even earlier crop, sow your spring varieties indoors in flats starting in mid-February, then every two weeks thereafter for continuous production through the growing season.  The early varieties tolerat elight frost, so you can start transplanting the seedlings well before the last expected frost date in your area.  Before transplanting, be sure to "harden off" seedlings by exposing them gradually to colder outdoor temperatures.  If a hard freeze threatens, protect your seedlings with row covers.

Top picks for early spring:  Butterhead - Tom Thumb, Four Seasons; Crisphead - Mini Green; Looseleaf - New Red Fire; Romaine -- Freckles, Little Caesar

SUMMER LETTUCE.   Summer is the most difficult season for growing lettuce, but it's possible with the right varieties and a little extra care.

Crisphead and romaine varieties bolt when hot weather arrives, so plant heat-tolerant looseleaf, butterhead, and Batavian varities.  Provide some shade during the blistering afternoon hours, since even the most heat-tolerant varities need protection from hours of direct sun.  If that's not possible, grow the lettuce under a lattice or some other shading.  You can also plant lettuce on the north side of trllised pole beans, or stretch a cloth over the bed.  The idea is to exclude some, but not all, sun at the peak of daylight.

Provide a consistent supply of water, particuarly during dry periods.  A deep soaking once or twice a week should be adequate.

Top picks for Summer:  Butterhead--"Burpee Bibb, Buttercrunch; French Batavian--Santa Fe, Nevada Green; Looseleaf--Mighty Red Oak, Royaol Oak Leaf; Romaine--Jericho, Corsair.

AUTUMN LETTUCE.   The trick to growing fall lettuce is selecting varieties that can tolerate late-summer heat and survive light frosts.  Because lettuce seed won't germinate in soil above 80 degrees, don't sow directly in the gardent in summer.  Instead, start your fall varieities indoors and transplant them later.

Many of the bolt-resistant varieties you planted in spring will grow well in the fall.  Like summer lettuces, autumn varieities need some protective shade.  Later in the fall, cover the plants to protect them from hard frosts.  Try several varieties, starting with the ones below, to determine which fall lettuces perform best in your climate and garden conditions.

Top picks for Fall:  Butterhead--Four Seasons, Tom Thumb; Looseleaf--Green Ice, Red Oak Leaf; Romaine--"Brune D'Hiver.

WINTER LETTUCE.   Few gardeners overwinter lettuce, which is a shame because winter lettuce is often the tastiest.  It requires little effort in Zones 5 and higher, and you can be successful if you plant the right varieties.  Plants that survive the winter will rapidly develop new growth as spring approaches and the days get longer and warmer.  And you'll get fresh lettuce long before the earliest spring-planted crops are ready.

Select only varieties bred for short day lengths and cold temperatures.  Sow your winter crop in late summer or fall, so plants can set roots and develop true leaves before the bitter cold arrives.  The lettuce will perform best in a cold frame, where you can harvest it through the winter.  If you don't have a cold frame, use other covers to protect your plants.

Even the most cold-tolerant varieties go into a form of "hibernation" showing little or no growth after freezing weather settles in.  However, when temperatures climb to about 45 degrees, the lettuce will bounce back with full vigor.  Just be sure to harvest before it gets TOO warm--day lengths of about 14 hours and temperatures over 70 degrees trigger bolting.

Top picks for Winter:  Butterhead--North Pole, Artic King; Romaine--Brune D'Hiver, Winter Density; Looseleaf--Winterwunder

PICK IT AND EAT!

The beauty of leaf lettuce is that you can start harvesting the outer leaves as soon as they're large enough to eat, often 20 to 25 days after sowing.  If you cut only a few outer leaves at a time, each plant will continue leaf production, giving you a longer harvest.  Most leaf varieties are cut-and-come-again crops--you can harvest everything except the center of the plant, and it will rapidly send up new growth.  When the plants finally bolt, simply remove them and sow your next crop.

Treat Romaine, French Batavian, and butterhead varieities the same way.  Harvest individual outer leaves as you need them, allowing the inner heads to deelop.  When the plants reach maturity, cut the heads before they bolt, then sow your next crop.

Crispheads are a little different.  Allow them to grow to full maturity, since the wrapper leaves protect the developing head from the sun and heat.  When the lettuce has formed a crisp, firm head, sever it at the base.  Then--you guessed it!--sow your next crop.