Heirloom variety: Connects gardeners to a plant with a rich historical background
Small, loose heads: Easy to harvest and perfect for pickling or fresh eating
Wrinkled leaves: Adds visual appeal and texture to salads
Buttery, flavorful leaves: Enhances taste for home cooks
Suitable for small spaces: Thrives in containers, cold frames, and limited gardens
Summarized by Shop
Tennis Ball is an heirloom heading lettuce once grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Very popular from the colonial times up through the early 1900's, the small heads of Tennis Ball were often preserved by pickling in a salt brine. Plants produce small, loose heads averaging 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Wrinkled leaves have buttery t
Plant Type
Heading lettuce
Head Size
6 to 8 inches diameter
Days to Harvest
Approximately 45 to 50 days
Seed Count
Minimum 250 seeds per packet
Seed Type
Black seeded
Harvest Method
Pickling in salt brine
Summarized by Shop
4.3
3 ratings
5
4
3
2
1
Only a few
Put seeds in compost and topsoil blend of soil and less the 50% sprouted with good waterings between rains
J
Joseph · April 26, 2025
Garden 2023 was ok
I’ve gardened here for 5 years, it was all forest to the road, a lot of work clearing and cleaning land. It has consistently been a struggle with poor soil. But now showing rich black dirt. Hauled about 60 or more Tons of manure fall 2023 to spring 2024 and compost faithfully. The drought summer to fall of 2023 made fall greens not perform well. Our tomatoes were fantastic bearing righ to fall. This years garden will be the best yet! Plants started indoors, potatoes and onions in ground already. I have expanded into medicinal plants heavily. Both forest and in garden. I’m adding solar power pump system to a well drilled in fall 2023. So drought will never stop me again. I grow some excellent broccoli normally spring and fall crop. I do not use chemical fertilizer except a little miracle grow for the boron, and transplant.