Jericho Romaine Lettuce

Open-Pollinated · 60–65 days from direct seeding

Meet This Plant

Jericho was bred in Israel for desert heat and it shows. While other lettuces are bolting and turning bitter in summer, Jericho keeps forming tall, dense heads with crisp, sweet leaves. It's the romaine you reach for when your growing season gets hot and you still want lettuce worth eating. It still prefers cool weather, but it handles heat better than almost any romaine you'll find.

What it tastes like: Crisp, clean, and mildly sweet with just enough bitterness to keep it interesting. The ribs have a satisfying crunch and the inner leaves stay tender even when the outer leaves are fully developed.

How to Grow It

• Depth⅛ inch. Barely cover with soil. Lettuce germinates best when planted shallowly.
• Spacing10–12 inches
• Row Spacing15–18 inches
• Thinning10–12 inches. Eat the thinnings.
• Germination7–14 days. Germination becomes unreliable above 75°F.
• Days to Maturity60–65 days from direct seeding

Grow Friend Tips

It handles heat better than most lettuces you'll come across

Jericho was specifically bred for hot, dry conditions. Where most lettuces tap out, Jericho keeps going. If you're in a warm zone or dealing with a hot spring, this is your variety. It still prefers cool weather, but it won't fall apart the moment temperatures climb.

Succession sow every 3 weeks

Same principle as any lettuce. One sowing gives you one harvest window. Sow every 3 weeks from early spring through late summer and you'll have romaine heads coming in waves instead of all at once.

Thin properly or you won't get real heads

Romaine needs room to form a proper upright head. Crowded plants produce floppy, loose leaves instead of the dense, structured heads Jericho is known for. Thin to 10–12 inches and don't skip it.

Harvest in the morning

Cut in the morning when leaves are cool and crisp, rinse in cold water, and get them inside fast. Heat wilts romaine quickly once cut.

It grows well in containers

A container at least 8 inches deep and 12 inches wide works for a single head. Keep it well watered since containers dry out faster than ground. Good option for a patio or balcony kitchen garden.

Harvest & What to Do With It

When it's ready

Jericho heads are ready when they're tall, dense, and firm when squeezed, typically around 60–65 days. The inner leaves should be blanched almost white and the outer leaves a bright chartreuse green. Once the center stem starts to push upward, it's about to bolt.

How to harvest

Cut the whole head at soil level with a sharp knife. Some gardeners leave the base and get a second flush of smaller leaves, though the main head is where Jericho really shines. You can also harvest outer leaves cut-and-come-again style before the head fully forms.

Yield

One head per plant. Dense, upright heads that commonly reach 8–12 inches tall under good growing conditions. A full packet at proper spacing gives you a solid run of heads if you succession sow.

Short-term storage

Rinse, spin dry, wrap in a dry paper towel, and refrigerate in a bag. Keeps 7–10 days. Romaine holds up better than loose leaf types in the fridge.

Long-term storage

What to cook

Raw is the point. The sturdy ribs and crisp leaves hold up to heavy dressings better than most other lettuce. Works well in lettuce wraps and grain bowls where you want something with a little structure and a little crunch.

Seed Storage & Saving

Storing unused seeds: Keep somewhere cool, dark, and dry. Viable up to 4 years.

Seed saving: Lettuce is self-pollinating, which makes it one of the easier crops to save seed from. Let a few plants bolt and flower. Once the seed heads dry and develop white tufts, cut the stalks, shake seeds into a bag, remove the chaff, and store somewhere cool and dark. If you're growing multiple lettuce varieties, a little extra distance between them helps keep things pure. Lettuce doesn't cross nearly as readily as most garden crops so you don't have to stress about it too much.