Maravilla de Verano is a superb Italian heritage variety. The crispy green leaves have a red tinge. Looks great and tastes even better. This lovely, large batavian is resistant to bolting and has a long season, sow from February through to early September for harvesting from May to November.
SOW: a little seed (5-10mm deep) every 2-3 weeks from February to mid-September to give you a succession of lettuces. You can start them in modules and transplant so that there is no need to thin. To help spread out your harvest sow a little seed every few weeks.
GROW: plant out when large enough to do so at about 25-35cm apart, harvest from May to November. You can plant these much closer and cut as mini-lettuces, especially useful if you have limited space. Watch out, slugs & snails love lettuces!
EAT: fresh in salad – enjoy the flavour on its own or try mixing with a range of other leaves such as spinach and baby Kale
All About Batavian lettuce
Batavian lettuce has more crinkled leaves and a wavy leaf margin than other types, they are typically sweet and crisp, with various varieties have different colourations – Maravilla de Verano is a green type with red tinges.
This lettuce type will germinate in warmer temperatures allowing for sowing into the UK summer, and they slow to bolt which gives you a wider harvest window.
Batavian lettuce are the precursor of the well-known modern Iceberg lettuce, indeed Maravilla is a heritage variety with records going back over many years: this is a variety that has stood the test of time, reliable and flavourful.
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