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  • From: Allan Balliett <aballiett AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] GROWING LETTUCE was Managing lettuce
  • Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 07:47:53 -0400

Thanks to Alison and Beth for weighing in on these questions. I'm still interested in how you are growing lettuce, folks, if you can find the time to answer. -Allan in WV



-Since we have so many champion lettuce growers sharing how they sell
what they sow, maybe it's a good time for me to ask some questions about
lettuce production that I'm always curious about.

I've put a list of questions below.

I Hope you can find the time to answer from your own experience! You do
not need to answer ALL questions. Thanks in advance!! (feel free to
respond off-line to aballiett AT frontiernet.net )

-Allan in WV

(Please tell me where region you are located in.)
<<SC Kentucky, zone 7

What are you using for fertilizer?
<<Replenish 3-5-3

When do you fertilize?
<<In high tunnels, twice a year even though there are usually several
plantings per year

How do you seed your salad mix, or do you transplant? (I ask because I
often get germination failures)

<< Mesclun is seeded in late afternoon, then drip run for several hours
in warm weather, in winter, not so important because soil temps are
already cool. For lettuce, we seed in flats and refrigerate for about
48 hours in summer to get good germination. Lettuce seed will go
dormant with both excessive temps and/or excessive light in a very short
time. We also store lettuce seed in the freezer in the summer because
our house is often hot enough to cause dormancy.

Do you use a commercial mix or make your own?

<<Make our own - much cheaper that way and we have greater control

Do you have a 'summer mix'? If so, what is in it?

<<<Yes. Greens do not do well in summer - get really "holey" from flea
beetles and often hot and/or bitter, so our summer mix is lettuce only.
It also uses bibb for the base rather than BS Simpson because the
Simpson bolts so fast - even when we are harvesting at 17-18 days from
seeding.

How do you harvest salad mix?

<<<By hand with scissors - 15-20 pounds a week doesn't justify
mechanical harvest

Do you cut the same bed more than once?

<<<In winter, yes, in summer, no - quality goes down too much

How soon after ending harvesting in a salad mix bed are you able to
re-plant it?

<<about 2 weeks if we get it turned under right away

Do you have favorite lettuce varieties?

<<Yes, but they are always changing as seed availability changes

At what point in the season do you start seeding 'summer' lettuces?
(Like Jerhrico)

<<<For transplant in May

Do you use shade cloth?

<<<Tried it - made no real difference in the mesclun except that it
etoliated in the lower light and the reds faded out.

At what time of the year do you start using shade cloth?

If you use shade cloth, do you cover the full bed or just the top of the
bed?

Do you use row cover?

Do you use it all season

How do you water your head lettuce? Your salad mix?

<<<<Drip on everything. Mesclun may be hand watered at seeding to
restore capillary action to the soil - especially in hot weather.

Alison Wiediger, Au Naturel Farm

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