Lettuce, Red-Winged Blackbird (Organic)

Lactuca sativa. Mini Red Romaine. 30 days baby; 55 full.

Named for one of the most abundant, and boldly colored, birds of North America. The name was inspired by a flock of RWBLs (yes, we are bird-nerds!) that moved in to glean the remnants of our sunflower seed crop while our first crop of this lettuce seed matured nearby. Lucky for us, they chased away the lettuce seed-eating finches and we had a bountiful harvest! Red-Winged Blackbird Lettuce leaves are vibrant green at the base and transition to bold, rosy red. Small heads grow to 8-9” with crisp leaves that are the perfect size for adding to a sandwich or using in salad mix when small. 

This Adaptive Seeds Original is the surprising result from a cross between Kalura Romaine and Ear of The Devil, two relatively large lettuces. Though it doesn’t look much like either of its parents, it carries traits for crunchy and sweet flavor, and heat and cold tolerance from both. A fun fact we learned during this breeding project is that if you cross a pale yellow green lettuce with a regular red lettuce you can get a super dark red result. We love these kinds of surprises!