--- title: "Lettuce" description: "Lettuce is a short-cycle hydroponic crop sold by the head rather than by weight, so the number of heads reaching grade in a year decides the return. What the crop asks of a greenhouse, and what separates the commercial types." canonical: "https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops/lettuce" locale: "en" updated: "2026-08-11" --- # Lettuce > Part of: [Greenhouse crops](/crops.md) · Provider: [DutchGreenhouses](/) Lettuce is a short-cycle hydroponic leafy crop sold by the head, so revenue follows the number of saleable heads a house turns in a year rather than harvested weight. Commercial production divides by head form and leaf shape into butterhead, Batavia, crispy, oakleaf, incised, Lolla and romaine types, with head mass and tipburn risk set at cultivar level. ## Facts | Property | Value | |---|---| | Scientific name | Lactuca sativa taxon | | Crop group | Leafy green categorical | | Growing system | Hydroponic categorical | | Cycle | Short cycle categorical | | Commercial classes | 7 classes | Crops # Lettuce. A short cycle repeated all year, where the head is the unit sold. Lettuce is sold by the head, not by the kilogram, and that single fact reorganises the economics. Revenue follows the number of saleable heads a house produces in a year, so the design questions are cycle length, planting density and the share of heads that reach grade. A house that produces heavy heads slowly can earn less than one producing lighter heads on a shorter turn, which is the opposite of how a fruiting crop is judged. ## What the crop needs The crop is short-cycle and hydroponic, and it is planted and cleared many times a year. That rhythm makes the system layout as important as the climate: the movement of plants through the house, the spacing changes as heads expand and the harvest and replant turnaround all set how many cycles a year the building can actually deliver. The climate envelope itself is narrow rather than demanding. ## What separates the varieties The commercial types divide by head form and leaf shape — butterhead, Batavia, crispy, oakleaf, incised, Lolla and romaine — and increasingly by cultivar within each type. A lettuce project is planned around a named cultivar because head mass, density tolerance and tipburn risk are cultivar properties rather than type properties. Romaine carries the highest tipburn risk of the family, because its upright head encloses the fastest-growing leaf margins where air moves least. DutchGreenhouses® designs the structure, climate, screening and irrigation around the lettuce type, its system and the local climate, so the house turns cycles at the head quality the market grades on. Get in touch to plan a lettuce greenhouse. Lettuce ## The varieties ### Butterhead lettuce Soft, loosely wrapped leaves, and the type least tolerant of handling. ### Greenleaf / Batavia lettuce A firmer, more robust head than butterhead, and it travels better. ### Green crispy lettuce A dense, crunchy head that suits both wholehead sale and high density. ### Red crispy lettuce The crispy head in red, where colour development is part of the grade. ### Green oakleaf lettuce A lobed, soft leaf grown for shape rather than for weight. ### Red oakleaf lettuce Lobed leaf and red pigment, usually sold as part of a set. ### Green incised lettuce A deeply cut leaf aimed at density and automated harvest. ### Lollo Bionda lettuce Tightly curled green leaf, sold on appearance. ### Lollo Rosso lettuce The red Lolla, where curl and colour are both the product. ### Romaine lettuce The upright head, and the tipburn risk that comes with it. ## Days, not weeks Lettuce is mostly water, and what it carries beyond that is eaten exactly as it left the plant. Vitamin C, potassium and folate sit in the leaf, and a salad is never cooked, so nothing is boiled out and nothing is added back. The leaf is both the crop and the meal. Water is also why the head is fragile. A cut lettuce goes on living and goes on losing moisture, and it spends its own condition doing it. A fruit can finish ripening on the way; a leaf only gets older. Turgor, colour and shelf life all start running down at the hour of cutting. That puts distance at the centre of the argument. A house near its market can cut in the morning and deliver the same day, and the head reaches the plate with most of its life still ahead of it. It can also do that in every month of the year, which is the part an open field in a hard climate cannot promise. ### Nutrition facts Lettuce, green leaf, raw Per 100 g Energy 15 kcal Fat 0.15 g Carbohydrate 2.87 g Sugars 0.78 g Fiber 1.3 g Protein 1.36 g Sodium 28 mg Potassium 194 mg Vitamin C 9.2 mg Source: USDA FoodData Central, FDC 169249 From the knowledge base ## Reads you might find interesting ceacultivationbusiness-case ### Grow Like a Pro: Starting Smart, Growing Strong How Grow Like a Pro combines smart farming, CEA technology and local partnerships for eco-friendly, profitable, pesticide-free greenhouse pr Read article education ### The Case for a College Greenhouse Why a college greenhouse belongs in the curriculum: teaching science, craftsmanship, business logic and sustainability, and preparing studen Read article education ### The Case for a High School Greenhouse Why every high school greenhouse matters: how it makes STEM tangible, builds responsibility and teamwork, and helps students discover their Read article education ### Greenhouses in Education: The Case for Schools Greenhouses in education reconnect students to reality — the full case for why every school, high school, college and trade program should h Read article historyconstruction ### The Origins of Greenhouse Horticulture: My Backyard A tour through greenhouse horticulture history: from 19th-century Westland fruit walls to the “City of Glass” and today’s international high Read article company ### DutchGreenhouses Rebranded: A New Corporate Identity Announcing our new corporate identity — a visual style reflecting our dedication to advanced, high-quality greenhouse projects and The Futur Read article ## FAQ **Why is lettuce revenue counted in heads rather than kilograms?** Lettuce is sold by the head, so revenue follows the number of saleable heads a house produces in a year. A house producing heavy heads slowly can earn less than one producing lighter heads on a shorter turn, which is the opposite of how a fruiting crop is judged. **What decides how many cycles a year a lettuce greenhouse delivers?** The system layout more than the climate. The movement of plants through the house, the spacing changes as heads expand and the harvest and replant turnaround set the cycle count; the climate envelope itself is narrow rather than demanding. **Why is a lettuce project planned around a named cultivar?** Head mass, density tolerance and tipburn risk are cultivar properties rather than type properties. The type sets head form and leaf shape; the cultivar sets what the house is dimensioned for, so the choice belongs in the brief before the design. ## Related [Greenhouse crops](/crops.md) · [Spinach](/crops/spinach.md) · [Arugula](/crops/rocket.md) · [Hydroponics](/irrigation/hydroponics.md) · [Climate](/climate.md) · [Butterhead Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/butterhead-lettuce.md) · [Greenleaf / Batavia Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/batavia-lettuce.md) · [Green Crispy Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/green-crispy-lettuce.md) · [Red Crispy Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/red-crispy-lettuce.md) · [Green Oakleaf Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/green-oakleaf-lettuce.md) · [Red Oakleaf Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/red-oakleaf-lettuce.md) · [Green Incised Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/incised-lettuce.md) · [Lollo Bionda Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/lollo-bionda-lettuce.md) · [Lollo Rosso Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/lollo-rosso-lettuce.md) · [Romaine Lettuce](/crops/lettuce/romaine-lettuce.md) ## See also https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83193 --- Canonical HTML version: https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops/lettuce