Lettuces

[svalli]

During winter I have grown lettuces in my automatic indoor garden, which circulates water and has lights with timer, but I wanted to test a passive hydroponic system for growing lettuce indoors. I made a simple system from an ice cream tub covered with black tape, a hydroponic net pot and a rock wool cube. I have it under LED light which is on 16h and off 8h. It seems to work really well. I will definitely keep growing lettuce like this through the year. I have now sown lettuce outdoors, so I may not need to do this during summer, but for winter time this will be easy way to grow fresh lettuce.

Lettuce test.jpg

Seeds for this romaine lettuce were sent to me by @Bower in 2018 and germination is still good.


Sari

[Yak54]

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Been picking and eating many different kinds off lettuce recently IMG_0028.jpeg

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[Yak54]

Planted 3 varieties of leaf lettuce today. Trying to get an early start on the fall crop. Will plant some romaine and butterhead in a few more days.

[agee]

I am in Atlanta, Georgia and we are going to be in the high 90s, even 100, so I am going to hold off on lettuce and root vegetables but hope to direct sow by the end of the month, early next month.

[Yak54]

Wow that's warm ! My high for the next 7 days is 82 deg.

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

I planted 4 varieties yesterday.

Grew Muir this year for the first time and just pulled the last of the plants from it. Will definitely be a repeat. Muir survived all our summer heat, grew a tad odd, up and a bit curly, but the tender leaves continued to grow and I just this week started to see it going to seed finally.

Question from someone without a lot of experience growing lettuce (I normally grow a leafy mix not actual plants)... with Muir, we harvested leaves from the side as the plant grew up. How is best to harvest these; sides shoots or should I chop the top off and will it regrow?

We had one lettuce that I bought from a garden center in a mix of 4 that was horrid. Long, tongue like leaves, tough, but man, that plant was unstoppable - too bad the taste and texture was so bad.

[karstopography]

I direct seeded Ruby Gem, Little Gem, New Red Fire, Bughatti,and Gabriella lettuce yesterday, plus some saved seed runway arugula.

We have a few days of coolish weather that I hope will allow the lettuce to germinate. This might be the earliest I’ve planted lettuce in the fall.

[pepperhead212]

I have some "unkown" leaf lettuce, that I got in a "mesclun mix" years ago, that produced well into the heat of the summer, past the black seeded simpson, and all others I had that year. So, since I had no idea what it was, I had to save the seeds from it, once it bolted. I had never saved lettuce seeds, so I didn't realize how long it took to get the dry seeds! It is one of those "blush red" leaf lettuces, and I've tried many varieties, but none were close to this, as far as heat resistance! Similar to that quatre saisons lettuce, but that, and all those others just weren't as good. So every couple years, if something lasts even longer into the summer, before bolting, I'll save the seeds from that one. This year, I had one last longer than any I have ever grown - to the end of August, after planting in early April!! It slowed leaf production later, but the central core didn't start showing up until late August. Here's a photo of it today, waiting for the flowers to set, and the seeds to dry up.
My unknown lettuce that I have to save seeds for, and lasts longer into hot weather than any - this one grew through the summer! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another thing it is my best lettuce for is the hydroponics. Hardly gets any red in the leaves inside, with less light. I plant the seeds at the end of October, or beginning of November, and early December start harvesting. And no bolting until I have already planted outside, in April or May.
Hydroponics lettuce and mizuna, 3-13-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Uncle_Feist]

That unidentified lettuce looks just like the Prize Head lettuce that @MissS identified for me last year, @pepperhead212 and it's a long season dandy!

[bower]

I had the leaf lettuce 'Cocarde' again this year and managed to save a few seeds - Mom especially liked it to cut and come, as she said it never got tough or bitter. But when I opened the seed bag I found most of the plants were covered in black mold. The humidity inside the house this year has been insane, but TBH there were many plants affected by fungal disease in the field this season. So whatever this lettuce thing is, I wouldn't plant the seeds without some kind of treatment. IDK, maybe vinegar soak? Will have to look it up.
Meanwhile I only managed to get a single plant each of May Queen and Red Iceberg, which are finally bolting but haven't flowered in time. I will try and bring them in the greenhouse before frost after I clean it up in there, but maybe it's just too late to hope for seeds.

[pepperhead212]

That's a bummer, with all those seeds getting messed up, @bower. Maybe, if you're trying to save any still, use some H2O2 on them?

I didn't mention it, because I just figured it's something always done, like with many brassica greens - the "cut and come again". That's why leaf lettuce is all I grow! I never have it get bitter, but then, as soon as I see the bolting start, I stop harvesting.

[bower]

If peroxide is the thing to treat em with, I'll give it a go. Tx for the advice @pepperhead212 .

[Yak54]

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Got some lettuce seedlings getting ready to go. I just love fresh garden lettuce !

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[Yak54]

Will start putting lettuce seedlings "in the ground" around May 1st. Should start picking and eating around May 26th through the end of June. Maybe later for the New Red Fire, Baby Oakleaf and Prizehead.

[Tormahto]

I have some "unkown" leaf lettuce, that I got in a "mesclun mix" years ago, that produced well into the heat of the summer, past the black seeded simpson, and all others I had that year. So, since I had no idea what it was, I had to save the seeds from it, once it bolted. I had never saved lettuce seeds, so I didn't realize how long it took to get the dry seeds! It is one of those "blush red" leaf lettuces, and I've tried many varieties, but none were close to this, as far as heat resistance! Similar to that quatre saisons lettuce, but that, and all those others just weren't as good. So every couple years, if something lasts even longer into the summer, before bolting, I'll save the seeds from that one. This year, I had one last longer than any I have ever grown - to the end of August, after planting in early April!! It slowed leaf production later, but the central core didn't start showing up until late August. Here's a photo of it today, waiting for the flowers to set, and the seeds to dry up.
My unknown lettuce that I have to save seeds for, and lasts longer into hot weather than any - this one grew through the summer! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another thing it is my best lettuce for is the hydroponics. Hardly gets any red in the leaves inside, with less light. I plant the seeds at the end of October, or beginning of November, and early December start harvesting. And no bolting until I have already planted outside, in April or May.
Hydroponics lettuce and mizuna, 3-13-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I'd think that distributing seeds around to others, from your "slowest bolting" lettuce, would allow for the greatest amount of selections to be made, from many more growouts.

[pepperhead212]

@Tormato I still have about 1/2 tsp of seeds from the plant I harvested from in '21, while this one from "23 (planted from the '21 batch) only about 1/8 tsp - about 70 seeds - probably less because it bolted a month later, while the first batch had longer, and warmer weather to set the seeds. And the reason that plant bolted later may have been because last summer was cooler - fewer 90+ days - while '21 was much warmer, so it may not be improving, just better weather. I would be willing to share them - already I have 3 growing outside, about the same time I planted them last season.

The '23 seeds I planted in the hydroponics in very early November, and one plant, again, did not even have a hint of bolting in over 5 months! I kept harvesting the lowest leaves, and it kept growing that central stalk, until I just pulled it a few days ago, since it was growing into the lights, like the Russian red kale. And another fall planting, I had in another one of those Jr Earthboxes, and in November I brought it into my back porch (along with some rosemary, marjoram, and Syrian Oregano, in case it was too cold outside), and it got down to maybe 22° the lowest, all winter, and that fall planting didn't die, or bolt, and I put it back out in February. It still never bolted, though it didn't grow much, either, and I pulled it in late March, to refresh the planter.

[maxjohnson]

I sown several bags of lettuce seeds around the garden and no more than a few dozen seedlings came up. Some variety zero came up. I probably bought them seeds 3 or 4 years ago, but they are probably 5 years old form harvest by now at least. I've been told about how long they lasts, but it's good to find out first hand. Spinach seeds of the same age all came up.

[karstopography]

First planting of lettuce seeds today, at least for fall of 2024.

https://brazoria.agrilife.org/files/201 ... _13_18.pdf

Calendar for planting.

[bower]

Time to start my indoor winter seeds any day now too.
Will be Sherwood romaine from the home seed, and May King, from a friend in Ontario.

[karstopography]

I planted Buttercrunch, Merville Des Quatre Saisons, Little Gem, and Red Sails,

Plus, I sowed a little Runway Arugula and Olesh Tres Fine endive. I also did a row of Lavewa Spinach.

Most of the store bought lettuce and salad greens sort of grosses me out so we don’t eat a lot of salads until I can harvest my own.

Plan is to periodically sow these type of greens for the rest of our cool season.