Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce

       Sustainable Seed Company writes of this lettuce:

Lactuca Sativa
Black Seeded Simpson (45 days)

An old reliable lettuce that is heat resistant, slow to bolt and very dependable. Leaves are large, but lightly crispy and ruffled.  Excellent for spring, early summer and fall planting.  I remember my grandmother growing this variety.  She was a practical German woman, so it was one of her favorite for its consistent yields...when the rabbits didn't find it!

1885 James J.H. Seed Co. says..
"An improvement on the Simpson, being finer in many respects."


      Luckily for me, it is Lou Gallo's favorite lettuce, so he often over plants when starting his fall crop.  And I often benefit, as Lou is quite willing to share.

Lou's Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce,  September 20,  2012

      This is a picture of Lou's seed bed of Black Seeded Simpson.  He seeded it heavily in August, and transplants it to other areas of his garden.  I dug out some plants this morning, leaving some space between the newly created rows.  The left side of this picture illustrates the current stocking of his bed.

My box of transplants

      I had started some Black Seeded Simpson earlier, but only a few came up in the middle of this bed.  The arugula to the right did much better, and the Four Seasons Lettuce with the coppery color to the left did passably.  I took some of the new transplants, and filled in the Black Seeded Simpson swath.

Four Seasons, Black Seeded, and Arugula,  September 20,  2012

      Although the transplants looked great in the photo above, they had some major wilt by the time I left the park.  They should show pretty good recovery in two or three days.  With that wilt in mind, I took the rest of the transplants home to plant them in cell packs and put them in the shade.  They should develop a decent root system in a week.  Then they will go in the ground as needed.

Sitting in the shade