Merlox Red Oak Oakleaf Lettuce - Organic

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seeds

1g: $3.75; Item: 2781-A
4g: $11.50; Item: 2781-B
14g: $29.00; Item: 2781-C
28g: $50.00; Item: 2781-D
112g: $175.00; Item: 2781-E

Lactuca sativa
(53 days) Open pollinated.

Frank Morton’s first release of his “Merlox variations” combines the ultra-dark pigmentation of Merlot with the superior flavor of larger Emerald Oak. This uniform compact 10– 12" oakleaf head boasts showy deep maroon leaves with a hint of blanched green in their centers. Loose but upright habit makes for clean cutting in salad-leaf harvest. Known as a cool-season lettuce, yet in the dry early heat of summer 2018 we found no bitterness at all—unique for such bold coloration. Good for winter culture as well: left outdoors in central Maine with no row cover, mulched only by a generous snow cover, two-thirds overwintered and were ready to eat in early May. Bred with strong horizontal resistance to DM and SC.

Breeder Royalties. OSSI.

Supplier Transparency:
① Small seed farmers including Fedco staff

ships year-round

This item is certified organic

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Quick Details

Hybrid Status: open pollinated
Cold Hardy: Yes
Days to Maturity: 53 days
OSSI: Yes
Breeder Royalties: Yes

Compare

Compare with other Oakleaf Lettuce

Variety	Product Type	Hybrid Status	Cold Hardy	Days to Maturity	OSSI	Breeder Royalties
Bronze Beauty Arrowhead Organic	seeds	open pollinated		46 days
Antares Organic	seeds	open pollinated		48 days	Yes	Yes
Camo Oakheart Gene Pool Organic	seeds	open pollinated		55 days	Yes	Yes
Elf Ears Oak Organic	seeds	open pollinated		50 days	Yes	Yes
Lingua di Canarino (Canary Tongue) Organic	seeds	open pollinated		50 days
Merlox Red Oak Organic	seeds	open pollinated	Yes	53 days	Yes	Yes
Flashy Green Butter Oak Organic	seeds	open pollinated		54 days	Yes	Yes
Italienischer Organic	seeds	open pollinated		55 days
Oscarde Organic	seeds	open pollinated	Yes	30 days baby, 45 days mature

Shipping

From early May through mid-December, items shipping from our garden seeds warehouse ship twice a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday. For quickest turnaround time order online by noon Monday or Wednesday.

* We are currently receiving seed from our growers. We may hold orders for up to two weeks as we pack seed to complete orders.

Additional Information

Lettuce

700–1100 seeds/g.
Days to maturity are from emergence after direct sowing; for transplants, subtract 20 days.

Culture: Direct seed outdoors as soon as ground can be worked and repeat every 2 weeks for continuous supply. Or start indoors in March and at regular intervals thereafter for early transplanted successions. Optimal germination temperature range 40–70° though many varieties won’t germinate in soil temps above 75° and most shut down above 80°. Thin sowings frequently and ruthlessly to a final distance of 1' for full heads. Heavy nitrogen feeders.

Hardy. All save icebergs tolerate heavy frost. Fall and overwintered harvests are becoming standard practice. For summer harvest, select varieties carefully: bolting, bottom rot and tipburn are problems if a variety can’t take the heat! Using shade cloth can keep lettuce tender and sweet longer into summer. Sesquiterpene lactones produced in the latex render lettuce bitter when it bolts.

Saving Seed: Saving lettuce seed is easy! Leave spring-planted lettuce heads to bolt. Flowers will become white tufted seeds. Once dry on stalk, rub seeds off the plant into a paper bag. To ensure true-to-type seed, separate lettuce varieties by 10 feet.

Diseases:

BOR: Bottom Rot
DM: Downy Mildew
LMV: Lettuce Mosaic Virus
PM: Powdery Mildew
SC: Sclerotinia
TB: Tipburn
X: Xanthemonas

Pest: Aster Leafhopper (vector for Aster Yellows disease)
Cultural controls: control perennial broadleaf weeds near lettuce plantings, plow lettuce fields immediately after harvest.

Pest: Slug
Cultural controls: avoid mulch or nearby grassy areas.
Material: Sluggo

Disease: Bottom Rot
Cultural controls: rotate with grass-family green manures, plant in well-drained soil or on raised beds, more upright varieties escape infection.

Major Diseases: Downy Mildew, Grey Mold, White Mold
Cultural controls: rotation, reduce duration of leaf wetness, plant parallel to prevailing winds, use wide spacing, control weeds, use well-drained fields in spring and fall.
Material controls: MilStop

Germination Testing

For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.

Our Seeds are Non-GMO

All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.