Italienischer is an excellent heat-tolerant summer oakleaf lettuce with big outer leaves, a better taste and texture, and less bitterness. Good, juicy, crisp, and mild-flavored.
Give these huge beauties plenty of space. Seeds come in a mixture of black and white, both true-to-type, though some plants will exhibit more of a buttercrunch leaf in a different shade of green.
Direct seed outdoors as soon as ground can be worked, or start indoors in March. Plant when temperatures are in the range of 40–70°F. Thin frequently and ruthlessly to a final distance of 1 foot for full heads. This variety is a heavy nitrogen feeder and must be fertilized.
This variety is hardy and can tolerate heavy frost. Keep soil evenly moist to prevent early bolting and bitterness.
To harvest, pick individual leaves throughout the season to encourage regrowth or harvest full heads by cutting them 1 inch above the soil line with a sharp knife.
Allow one lettuce plant to go to seed. Once it bolts, a stalk will rise in the middle of the plant and flower. Once the flowers have dried, little cottony white puffs will emerge on the stalk. Seeds are located underneath the white puffs. Make sure to check on the plant daily as wind can carry away the seeds if left unharvested. Bring the harvested flower heads inside and break them apart with your fingers to release the seeds. Lay seeds out to dry for one week before storing in a cool, dry place for up to five years.