Four types of lettuce are grown in New Mexico, Dickerson said. Iceberg lettuce forms a head of large, heavy, tightly folded leaves. Leaf lettuce is the most popular of the home-grown types and the easiest to grow. It matures in about 45 days and comes in a wide variety of flavors, textures and colors. Butterhead lettuce forms a loose head of crumpled leaves with a soft, buttery texture.
Romaine lettuce develops long heads of leaves with heavy midribs.
It has a crisp, sweet flavor and adds crunch to a salad. Spinach is characterized by a compact rosette of leaves that may be crinkled or smooth. It also can be used as a cooked green or potherb. Thin the plants several times using the thinned seedlings in salads and mature plants as cooked greens. Radishes also are popular in salad mixes or by themselves.