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- From: "waldenfarm" <waldenfarm AT bellsouth.net>
- To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question
- Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 09:00:45 -0400
I've grown lettuce all summer for years- taking
lettuce to market from May thru Oct. I'm in Zone 7a in east Tennessee. I do it
without shade cloth- I found this just makes plants "leggy" and taking it off
and putting it back on the beds every day was time consuming.
The main secret is a variety that is not
day-length sensitive. Try the "Crisp heads. The first one I tried was Nevada
from Cook's Garden- this was before the large seed cos. started carrying them. I
found Nevada to be the best for summer growing. Most seed cos. carry this now- I
know Johnny's does.
Most lettuces are day-length sensitive. This
means that they turn bitter and "bolt" (send up flower heads in response to day
length- sort of, "It's summer! Yikes! Better reproduce before I burn up!")
Planting a variety that doesn't respond to day length is the first
key. (Plant physiologists now say that it's the short nights that
stimulate, but to a farmer- what's the diff?
The next key to stopping bolting is to reduce
stress- any plant starts blooming if stressed- again, "Yikes..." One of the main
stresses is lack of water, causing wilting. So, soil water level management is
the second key. Keep the soil at optimal water level for availability to the
plants. BTW, too much water in a poorly draining soil will also stress the
plants.
Another thing that stresses plants is heat
build-up in their tissues. Water moving through the plant acts a coolant. Plants
will wilt if their tissues get too hot, even with sufficient water in the soil.
The way to cool them is with overhead watering. On a small scale like mine, this
means using a watering fan on low pressure about noon every day. I add enough
water to the plants to cool them down. On a larger scale, you could use a timer
and sprinklers.
I'm sure you'll be able to adapt to the plants'
needs there in Texas. Let observation be your primary tool and it doesn't hurt
to read up on plant physiology.
Good luck!
Alex McGregor
Walden Farm
|
-
[Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question,
mcoldiron, 05/25/2009
- Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question, Sue Wells, 05/25/2009
-
Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question,
Pat Meadows, 05/25/2009
-
Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question,
Road's End Farm, 05/25/2009
- Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question, Danielle Conger, 05/26/2009
-
Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question,
Road's End Farm, 05/25/2009
-
Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question,
waldenfarm, 05/26/2009
-
Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question,
Pat Meadows, 05/26/2009
- Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question, Roots Farm & Karen Sutherland, 05/26/2009
- Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question, waldenfarm, 05/26/2009
-
Re: [Market-farming] Growing Lettuce Question,
Pat Meadows, 05/26/2009
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