Lactuca sativa var. capitata.
One of the most delicate and refined of all lettuces — a butterhead type ("butter lettuce"), with a soft, tender head formed of leaves so fine and fragile they almost melt on the tongue. This category is the fourth great family of lettuces, after the crisphead (iceberg type), the romaine (cos type), and the loose-leaf (cutting) lettuces.
Boston Bibb is a variant of the famous Bibb type, created in the 1850s by John Jouett Bibb (1789-1884) — a lawyer, jurist and amateur horticulturist from Frankfort, Kentucky, who developed the variety in his garden for his personal use. The lettuce so pleased his Bluegrass neighbours and friends that it spread across the region before reaching the entire United States. In Kentucky it is sometimes still called limestone lettuce, because its exceptional quality stems from the particular mineral richness of the calcareous soils of Kentucky, where it was selected over generations. Boston Bibb is an intermediate line between the pure Bibb (very small tight head) and the classic Boston (larger, looser head), combining the best of both: practical size for a family meal and incomparable tenderness.
A compact plant forming an open rosette shaped like a small leafy rose 20-25 cm across, with leaves of luminous tender green on the outside, paler and almost whitish-yellow at the heart, sometimes lightly tinged pink-red depending on growing conditions (cool temperature and full sun accentuate the tint). Absolutely incomparable texture: thick yet supple leaves, both melting and fresh, that need no sophisticated dressing to shine.
Uses: a simple green salad of the day with a French vinaigrette of olive oil, cider vinegar and Dijon mustard (Bibb has so much character that overly creamy dressings should be avoided — they'd mask its finesse); the traditional Québec salade tiède au lard (tender lettuce drizzled with smoking bacon fat and vinegar, old-style); individual cups served as "spoons" to hold curried chicken, tuna salad or salmon mousse (the lettuce wrap so popular in Asian restaurants); or simply whole leaves in a club sandwich or a BLT. Much more tender than iceberg, much less fibrous than romaine — it's the pleasure lettuce.
Grower's tip: Like all lettuces, Boston Bibb prefers cool seasons and bolts quickly in summer heat (above 24-26 °C sustained, it starts to stretch within days). Classic Québec strategy: start indoors 4-6 weeks before transplanting (mid-March for mid-April), or direct-sow as soon as the soil can be worked (early May). In summer, stagger sowings every two weeks in part shade or under a shade cloth. Fall sowings (mid-August) are particularly successful with this type of lettuce — the head then forms under cool nights that make the texture even more tender and the colour more beautiful. Harvest by cutting the whole plant above the crown when the head is well formed and before it begins to bolt. Freshness of picking matters a lot — Boston Bibb loses its tenderness within days of harvest, unlike iceberg which keeps a long time. Ideally pick in the morning, just before the meal.
- Open-pollinated. Annual. Largely self-pollinating, very few crosses to fear — an excellent candidate for amateur seed saving.
- Height: 20-25 cm.
- Maturity: 50-60 days.
- Exposure: full sun in spring and fall; part shade essential in summer.
- Soil rich in organic matter, cool, well-drained, neutral. Space plants 25-30 cm apart.
- Start indoors in mid-March for mid-April transplant, or direct-sow early May in Québec. Staggered sowings every two weeks until mid-August for continuous harvest.
