Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Lettuce questions

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Richard Moyer <ramoyer AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Lettuce questions
  • Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:35:21 -0400

Barb,
At our April market in the SW VA mountains, anything green sells.
Seriously; chickweed, lambsquarters, watercress, peppercress, creasy
greens, etc. It doesn't matter the type of lettuce. Last year,
'Tango' did well in May spring mixes, lots of loft as noted by Alison
W. and others, but bolted sooner than most. (Alison's book 'Walking
to Spring' has valuable info on high tunnel lettuce culture, including
variety recommendations.) Our 'Red Cross' plants from Johnny's held
up well in the heat and we sold it into last June. The last planting
all bolted at once, we let one bed go to seed and saved it, a few
seeds that dropped came up in the fall and we ate it for Thanksgiving,
still looking great without any cover despite several freezes, one to
24F. So we are doing Red Cross spring and fall. 'Flashy Butter Oak'
best flavor last May, sweet, thick and crunchy stems, but bolts
easily.

Set out 200 each of the following on March 7-8. Covered with 0.5 oz
fabric when in low 20s. Been irrigating lots due to dryness and temps
in 80s.
Selling now: 'Galisse' and 'Oscarde', red and green oakleafs, sold as
baby into full size. 'Oscarde' red and smaller; sometimes selling two
Oscarde for price of one Galisse.
Selling next: 'Red Cross' (butterhead)
Planning for later in May, a few ready now: 'Italienischer' (huge
looseleaf), Devil's Tongue (cos), 'Sylvesta' (butterhead) These
chosen for resistance to bolting and bitterness. Watching 'Trout's
Back' (romaine) carefully to harvest before bitter/bolting.

Barb,
We set row cover up last July, August and Sept, about 4 ft high, 10 ft
wide. Had Simpson Elite, Green Deer Tongue and Green Oakleaf. Don't
know % shade, and price was right, but all became too leggy for whole
plants, so sold as individual leaves, but too labor intensive with
everything else going on. Performance under shade cloth has been
variable for others as well, as noted on the list archives.

If any of you all have grown these before, help requested on best for
summer heat in 80s: Drunken Woman, Green (and Red) Deer tongue,
Jericho, Mascara, Nevada, New Red Fire, Red Sails, Revolution, Salad
Bowl, Simpson Elite, Slobolt, Summertime, Tropicana, Winter Density.
Will be seeding some of these into flats this week, some direct into
beds once overwintered brassicas there stop blooming.
Which in this last group have worked for summer lettuce when temps
have warmed? No one at my market has lettuce past mid summer, and my
customers buy (from elsewhere) and eat salads all summer long. I
rather not be competing then with 25 cent cucumbers and squash and
$1/lb potatoes and beans.
Richard
SW VA


> 6. Re: Lettuce questions (BarbaraJ)

> Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:16:12 -0600
> From: "BarbaraJ" <jbmckillip AT mesanetworks.net>
>
> Richard, I don't have answers for you, but I'm curious as to the type of
> lettuces you are selling well. I am starting trays of red/green bibb
> lettuces to sell as small heads this year in addition to my salad mixes.
> I'm wondering if you could make row covers of shade cloth. Didn't I see a
> picture here of someone who did that? Seems like it would help if you made
> low tunnels out of EMT and then clipped shade cloth to the row. Now if
> you've got acres like that, maybe not!
>
> Barb
> Front Range Colorado, where we actually got a bit of rain yesterday and it's
> cloudy and cool today
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard Moyer" <ramoyer AT gmail.com>
> To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 6:52 AM
> Subject: [Market-farming] Lettuce questions
>
>
>> Our first year with lettuces in quantity, we have sold out at our
>> first two market dates. We want to prevent physiological stress in
>> those coming on through June/July, and have read that keeping soil
>> temps cool is key. We have lots of shredded hardwood leaves we could
>> mulch between rows and plants with. But am concerned about creating
>> slug heaven, and also about cleaning leaf bits out of the lettuce
>> plants.
>> Do any of you mulch lettuce, if so with what? What about planting so
>> densely that all soil is shaded soon, and harvesting baby lettuce size
>> between?
>>
>> Slug control: have used Sluggo with success, but am curious how much
>> and how often is recommended to put out.
>>
>> Finally, several weeks before harvest date for the lettuces we have
>> been planting in fingerling potato pieces between the 12" lettuce
>> rows. Any ideas on interplanting within lettuce rows in beds,
>> removing the early crop to let the later crop fill the bed? Prefer
>> undersowing/interplanting with another salable crop. We did this with
>> two rows of carrots between 3 rows of parsnips last year per bed, and
>> harvested the carrots out in summer, digging parsnips in winter. What
>> other crop combos could work?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Richard Moyer
>> SW VA




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page