Merlot Lettuce | Lactuca sativa | Certified Organic
Deep purple-red leaves with delightful earthy flavor.
Looking for that perfect lettuce to complement a rich autumn feast? In Merlot, you'll find deep garnet hues with a brilliant sparkle. The rich, earthy flavor belies a distinct nose of black cherry with herbaceous undertones. Fresh and full-bodied and cloaked in a subtle, ruffled velvet robe, Merlot's mouth feel delights. It is well structured, supple, and smooth. A deep purple beauty, this recent vintage is sure to please the whole table. (Note: unlike other merlots, this one does not improve with age; harvest young!)
This variety is suitable for growing as a microgreen. 🌱
Sow indoors beginning 8-10 weeks before last frost, or direct sow beginning about 4 weeks before last frost. Harvest late spring and summer sowings promptly to beat bolting. Continue sowing until about 2 weeks before first fall frost. Lettuce likes steady (but not excessive) moisture and can become prematurely bitter during dry spells; keep irrigated for best-tasting leaves. Harvest at baby stage when leaves are 3" high, or at maturity. Merlot is an open lettuce, harvest mature heads when full and frilly.
Days to Germination 3-10 days
Days to Maturity 60 days
Planting Depth ¼"
Spacing in Row 4-12"
Spacing Between Rows 12"
Height at Maturity 10"
Width at Maturity 10"
Sun Preference Full to Little Sun
Artwork by Bayla Laks. Bayla evokes the beauty of the Catskills and the richness of farm life with this painting. She has a BFA in Illustration and Art History and has spent time living and working on a biodynamic farm.
About Hudson Valley Seed Company
They are a values-driven seed company that practices and celebrates responsible seed production and stewardship. Hudson Valley are best known for their beautiful artist-design seed packs (Art Packs) that appeal to gardeners, gift buyers, and lovers of art and nature.
These Art Packs, most fundamentally, tell stories. Hudson Valley challenges artists to convey in a manner that is fully their own, the history and meaning of the seed variety contained in each pack. These stories were once integral to traditional societies-stories of seeds were often origin stories for entire communities and peoples, and the lore and beliefs that accumulated around seed varieties reflected the nearly familial way in which gardeners and farmers regarded their crops. Our society is, by and large, no longer connected to plants this way. But we like to think these Art Packs help to stitch our fragmented world back together: useful seeds, evocative art, both equally valuable to our experience of being human.