Matilda

Latin name: Lactuca sativa

🌱 Days to Sprout: 7-14

😋 Plant Food: after true leaves

✂️ Thin to: 1 plant per yCube

🍅 Days to Maturity: 52

💡 Light Zone: Moderate

📏 Plant Size: <1 ft

💚 Care Level: Beginner

Lettuce is thought to have originated in the Middle East, with the earliest depictions of it appearing in Egypt around 2700 BC. Ancient Egyptians bred lettuce plants to be less bitter than their wild counterparts and used oil from wild lettuces for a variety of applications, including mummification.

The sweet, green, and buttery-textured leaves are particularly high in vitamin A and potassium, which supports blood pressure, cardiovascular health, bone strength, and muscle strength.

Whole leaves make perfect lettuce wraps for cooked ground chicken and shrimp. Matilda also makes an excellent addition to any salad or sandwich.

💡Temperature: Prefers cooler temperatures (60-70°F), and if placed in higher temperatures, it will turn bitter and bolt.

✂️ Pruning: Check the roots monthly and trim any that are brown or extending past the yPod. 

🥬 Harvest: For ongoing harvest, snip the outer leaves just above the base of the plant once they reach 4 inches tall to let the inner leaves continue to grow. Leave 1/3 of the plant if you want it to continue growing. To harvest the full head, wait until it reaches maturity, then harvest from the base.

Recipe Source: Bon Appetit

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more

• ½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced

• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced

• 1 baby beet, trimmed, scrubbed, very thinly sliced

• 2 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced

• ⅓ cup buttermilk

• ⅓ cup whole-milk plain yogurt

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 4 heads of Matilda lettuce, leaves separated

• ½ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems

• ¼ cup torn mint leaves

1. Combine apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp. kosher salt, and ½ cup water in a large bowl.

2. Add fennel, shallot, beet, and radishes and let sit 10 minutes, then drain.

3. Whisk buttermilk, yogurt, and lemon juice in a small bowl; season dressing with salt and pepper.

4. Spoon some dressing onto lettuce leaves and top each with some drained pickled vegetables, cilantro, and mint. Serve with any remaining dressing alongside.

Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Our Plant Health & Nutrition Team thoroughly tests each variety we offer to bring you the most flavorful and high-quality plants. We regularly rotate our plant portfolio, so please note, availability varies.