Lettuce Leaf Black Seeded Simpson Organic Seed
Lactuca - sativa 

You may never run out of salad material if you plant this old favorite! Black Seeded Simpson (yes --- the seeds are black) has delicate flavor and produces a very fast crop. Greens can be harvested in just three weeks, and full-sized leaves can be harvested in just a little over a months time. A workhorse in the garden, this variety withstands adverse conditions including some drought, light frost, and heat (bolts late), so you can grow it during a longer period of the year than most other lettuce varieties. This packet plants: Three 10-foot rows or three successive plantings of 10-foot rows.
When to plant outside: Early spring, 3 to 4 weeks before the average last frost, and successive plantings thereafter every 3 weeks until 2 weeks before the first fall frost. (Skip very hot summers.) In USDA zone 8 or warmer, it can also be sown in fall for winter harvest..
When to start inside: 6 weeks before last spring frost and in summer when soil temperatures are too warm outside to germinate lettuce seed..
Special Sowing & Germination Instructions: Barely cover seed with soil or plant no deeper than 1/8. Light and cool temperatures increase germination. When thinning lettuce, use the thinnings in salads. It can be planted in rows, but group plantings take up less space and are attractive. Double or triple rows also work. If direct seeding outside in late summer for a fall crop, remember that lettuce seed does not come up well in heat. Cover the seeded area with 2 x 6 boards to keep the soil cool for a few days until seed comes up. For early spring planting, cover soil with clear plastic to warm the soil to 70 degrees (the optimum temperature for lettuce). When seedlings appear, immediately take off the plastic.