Chinese Celtuce Seeds — Summer 38 (Stem Lettuce)

Growing Guide for Pakistan

• Sowing time: Punjab plains (Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan) late September to early November; Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar September to October; Karachi and coastal Sindh October to November; Murree, Swat and Quetta February to March.
• Method: Do not cover the seed. Lettuce seed needs light to germinate — press it onto damp soil and leave it exposed.
• Germination: Three to five days, anywhere from 4°C to 27°C.
• Spacing: Rows 30–45 cm apart, plants 30 cm apart.
• Harvest: 75–85 days, once the stem has thickened to the width of a thumb and before it flowers.
• Sun and water: Full sun. Very steady water is what builds a thick tender stem; irregular watering makes it woody.

Tolerates real heat

This is not an ordinary celtuce strain. Summer 38 will take a few days at 38°C without bolting and still puts on good stem in warm weather, which is what makes it workable in the Pakistani plains where standard celtuce simply runs to flower and turns bitter.

How to prepare it

Cut the stem, strip the tough outer skin with a peeler until you reach the pale translucent core, then slice into coins or batons. Stir-fry hard and fast, or salt it and eat raw. The young leaves are usable as greens, though they are sharper than lettuce.

Something nobody else on your street is growing

Celtuce is a staple in China and almost unknown in Pakistan. If you like growing things that start a conversation, start here.

What is in the packet

70 seeds, packed for The Garden by Chanan Din. Bred by Kitazawa, via True Leaf Market, USA and imported for the Pakistani season. Non-GMO. Every lot is germination-tested in Lahore before it goes on sale.

New to seed starting? Read what to sow in September in Pakistan and why your seeds are not germinating first.

Germination-tested in Lahore before it reaches you, from a seed house trading since 1932.