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  • From: Russ and Rosie <russandrosie AT attbi.com>
  • To: 'Market Farming' <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Watering Lettuce Beds
  • Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 21:20:29 -0700

Paul and Alison,
I enjoyed your website. Nice photos.
I like you watering setup. Think I'll give it a try.
I was wondering if you would kindly answer a few questions.
Here's what I do:
I broadcast a lettuce mix over a prepared bed, then in 28 days I harvest
and pull out the plants and reseed. I find that processing a second
cutting takes way too much time. There are dead or cut leaves and the
quality just doesn't seem as good.
1) I will be sowing the same type of seed for most of the year. Is crop
rotation really an issue with lettuce? (This will be my first full year
and the first time I am doing it this way, thus the ignorance. :))
2) I read somewhere that lettuce doesn't do well growing in the same bed
that had previously grown Crusifers, beets, barley, rye, broccoli or
mustard family. Have you had this problem? I did direct sow a bed with
lettuce that had mustard grown in it and it didn't germinate.
3) What you harvest in the winter months, do you have it all planted by the
onset of winter or do you sow during winter as well?
Thanks!
Rosie
Tanglewood Farm - PNW

In reply to:
Allen,
We use 3-4 lines of drip in each bed and plant a row of mesclun (band of
seeds) on each side of the drip tape - making for 6-8 bands of mesclun in
each bed. We lay the drip, mark the rows with an Earthway seeder, band the
seed by hand, cover with rake or hoe (lightly), and hand water the surface.
We continue to have water with a wand until about 80% germination, then go
to drip exclusively until harvest (about 17-18 days). We only get one
cutting now until September or so from each seeding, but the value of the
harvest makes it worthwhile.

Paul and Alison Wiediger
Au Naturel Farm
http://aunaturelfarm.homestead.com






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