Quick Facts:

• Days to harvest: 40
• Hardiness: Very cold-hardy (thrives in frost, fades in heat)
• Light needs: Partial to full shade
• Water needs: Moderate (prefers consistently moist, cool soil)

Planting:

• Direct sow is strongly preferred — does not transplant well.
• Timing: Sow in fall for winter harvest, or very early spring. In Zone 8b it can go in as early as February or as late as October.
• Depth: Surface sow or just barely cover, 1/8 in
• Spacing: Scatter-sow thinly and thin to 4–6 in, or just let it self-organize — it grows in clusters naturally.

Care:

• Germination: Needs light to germinate; don't bury the seeds. Germinates best in cool temps (40–60°F).
• Self-seeding: If you let it go to flower and seed, it will come back on its own — one of the most reliably self-seeding edibles you can grow in the PNW.
• Heat: It will bolt and disappear when temperatures climb. Pull it and plant something else; it'll be back in fall.

Harvest:

• Harvest at any size — baby leaves at 2–3 in or full rosettes at 4–6 in.
• Cut-and-come-again works until it bolts.
• Harvest method: Snip the whole rosette at the base or pull individual stems.
• Storage: Rinse gently, dry well, store in the fridge with a damp paper towel. More delicate than most greens — eat within 2–3 days.

Why This Variety: