Crop of the Week: Lolla Rossa
February 04, 2012 6:24 PM
• Lolla Rossa is among the crops harvested in the Yuma area
for the baby leaf salad industry. There are more than 5,000 acres of
mixed baby leaf greens produced in the Yuma area.
• Lolla Rossa is a deeply curled loose leaf lettuce variety with heavily frilled green leaves that have magenta-red edges. The stiff frills help to separate other leaves in salads as well as adding a lovely red color.
• Lettuce is a great vegetable, but it doesn't have to be relegated to rows in a vegetable field or garden. Some view this versatile plant as an ornamental addition to the landscape, adding color and texture. It looks handsome mixed with annuals in a flower bed, combines well with spring-flowering bulbs, or is a great foliar foil in mixed containers. When mixing lettuce with other ornamental plants, the same principles of design are used as with other foliage plants, selecting plants to contrast in color and texture with the adjacent plants.
• The Italian variety Lolla Rossa and its green leaf sister, Lollo Biondo, taste pleasantly strong and nutty although slightly bitter.
• All baby leaf, spinach and other small leaf baby green varieties in Yuma are harvested mechanically.
• Whether you choose baby field greens for your salad or dive right in to mustard greens, ounce for ounce these celebrated greens pack a powerful nutritious punch. They provide a wide array of nutrients, including fiber, beta-carotene, calcium, iron, folic acid and chlorophyll (the green pigment found in plant cells). Many varieties of leafy greens, including Lolla Rosa, are rich sources of vitamin C. The darker the leaves, the more nutrients the vegetable usually has.
• Lolla Rossa lettuce is believed to be a selected form of the bitter-leaved wild species (Lactuca serriola) found throughout Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Source: Kurt Nolte is an agriculture agent and Yuma County Cooperative Extension director. He can be reached at knolte@cals.arizona.edu or 726-3904.
• Lolla Rossa is a deeply curled loose leaf lettuce variety with heavily frilled green leaves that have magenta-red edges. The stiff frills help to separate other leaves in salads as well as adding a lovely red color.
• Lettuce is a great vegetable, but it doesn't have to be relegated to rows in a vegetable field or garden. Some view this versatile plant as an ornamental addition to the landscape, adding color and texture. It looks handsome mixed with annuals in a flower bed, combines well with spring-flowering bulbs, or is a great foliar foil in mixed containers. When mixing lettuce with other ornamental plants, the same principles of design are used as with other foliage plants, selecting plants to contrast in color and texture with the adjacent plants.
• The Italian variety Lolla Rossa and its green leaf sister, Lollo Biondo, taste pleasantly strong and nutty although slightly bitter.
• All baby leaf, spinach and other small leaf baby green varieties in Yuma are harvested mechanically.
• Whether you choose baby field greens for your salad or dive right in to mustard greens, ounce for ounce these celebrated greens pack a powerful nutritious punch. They provide a wide array of nutrients, including fiber, beta-carotene, calcium, iron, folic acid and chlorophyll (the green pigment found in plant cells). Many varieties of leafy greens, including Lolla Rosa, are rich sources of vitamin C. The darker the leaves, the more nutrients the vegetable usually has.
• Lolla Rossa lettuce is believed to be a selected form of the bitter-leaved wild species (Lactuca serriola) found throughout Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Source: Kurt Nolte is an agriculture agent and Yuma County Cooperative Extension director. He can be reached at knolte@cals.arizona.edu or 726-3904.
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