By Tom Kalb, Horticulturist

NDSU Extension

France is famous for many things — the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, wine and croissants among them.

But the French can also be proud of being the home of tremendous lettuce!

Batavia lettuce, also called French Crisp and Summer Crisp lettuce, is mild, sweet and crispy. It’s absolutely delicious. C’est magnifique!

Batavia lettuce is preferred by chefs for its texture and flavor. The leaves of Batavia lettuce are crisper compared to leaf lettuce but not as hard and crunchy as iceberg lettuce. This texture is perfect for salads and sandwiches. Batavia lettuce has much more flavor than iceberg lettuce.  

Batavia lettuce is preferred by gardeners because it is easy to grow. While most lettuce varieties turn bitter and go to seed in summer, Batavia lettuce keeps producing. Batavia lettuce tolerates the heat and rarely turns bitter. It’s amazing! You may be enjoying salads all summer long.

I was introduced to Batavia lettuce while living in Taiwan, where the summers are scorching hot. Your body gets drenched with sweat all day, and then the temperature cools down to only 80 degrees Fahrenheit at night. That’s 24/7 heat. My air conditioner was one of my best friends!

My organization, the World Vegetable Center, recommended the Batavia variety called Sierra for tropical countries. It could take the heat better than I could.      

Newer, better Batavia varieties are available today. The most heat-tolerant Batavia lettuce today is Muir. It has slightly ruffled, bright green leaves that loosely form into a head. Gardeners in North Dakota highly recommend it.

Other great Batavia varieties recommended by North Dakota gardeners include Nevada, Albachiara and Fusion. For those who like some red color in the leaves, Magenta, Chrystal, Pablo and Sierra will delight your eyes and your taste buds.

This brings us to an important point when selecting lettuce varieties: look for varieties that can tolerate heat.  

Besides the Batavia varieties, Buttercrunch is an heirloom that tolerates heat. Seed of this butterhead type is sold at every garden center.

If you prefer leaf lettuce, Bergam’s Green, Starfighter and Tropicana are widely available. Red Salad Bowl and New Red Fire are popular red-leaf types.

I originally thought romaine lettuce was difficult to grow, but it isn’t. Our team of gardeners likes Green Forest, Bluerock and Sunland for their flavor, crisp texture and tolerance to heat.

Whatever lettuce seed you grow, you can extend the harvest in summer by keeping the plants cool. Plant your lettuce in a location where it is out of the afternoon sun. It helps to use straw mulch or a shade cloth cover in summer, too.

Lettuce seeds can be directly sown into the garden in early May. You can start your seeds indoors three to four weeks earlier and transplant the young plants into your garden.

Where can you get these varieties? Do a Google search, and seed companies that sell the varieties will pop up. Some of these varieties may be at your local garden center, too.

North Dakota State University is inviting gardeners to test promising lettuce varieties, including Batavia varieties, in their gardens. To place an order or to find more information, visit ndsu.ag/gardentrials-26.

A fresh salad from the garden is wonderful. You can make that happen this summer by selecting a Batavia variety. Au revoir!

For more information about gardening, contact your local NDSU Extension agent.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – March 24, 2026

Source: Tom Kalb, 701-877-2585, tom.kalb@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu