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  • From: "Liz" <liz AT horseshoegardens.com>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] GROWING LETTUCE was Managing lettuce
  • Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 08:54:26 -0400


Sorry Allan, I forgot to answer you...will get to your questions in just a
bit...

Liz

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Allan
Balliett
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 7:48 AM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] GROWING LETTUCE was Managing lettuce

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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>
>
>
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