Kawanui Mescher Lettuce

Lactuca sativa
 
I’m always looking for the perfect lettuce and this is one of them. My perfect lettuce is crisp with excellent flavor even when mature, can withstand heat without bolting, can withstand torrential rains without melting, and is pretty…. the Mescher Lettuce has all those qualities. I call it Kawanui Mescher, because over the past 20 years I have grown it here, on Kawanui Farm in Kona. It’s color and ruffled edges have changed as it adapted to Hawaii. Originally called Schweitzer’s Mescher Bibb Lettuce, this variety is from the 1700’s in Austria, and came to the US in the early 1900s. The Mescher is tough and hardy with excellent flavor and appearance. It could become one of your “go-to in any season” lettuces, especially if you're a salad lover like I am! Our lettuce growers have had to cut way back on production because of climatic and invasive problems. But the home producer can grow all the lettuce you need. I sow once a month either just before the full or new moon. I sow seeds sparsely in a community pot and bring them up in a flat to transplant size.
 
Cultivation: 
Planting depth: ¼ inch deep
Plant spacing: 6-8 inches apart
Plant in full sun, they can tolerate some shade. Heat, drought, and rain tolerant 
Days to maturity: 50