Discuss your tips, tricks and experiences growing and selling vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants and herbs.
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May 19, 2012 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: eastview, tn
Posts: 28
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how to keep lettuce from wilting at farmers market
i have an abundance of beautiful salad greens but after two hours in 80 to 90's heat they are wilted. i spritz, keep in a cooler until needed for restocking. i have an ezup canopy...anyone have a successful strategy?
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May 19, 2012 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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Could you pull them up by the roots and sell them as "living plants" like the fancy lettuce in the store? Keep the roots in a slurry of vermiculite and water or even use the water crystals, in the cooler, and maybe rig up some sort of nice display with potted lettuces?
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May 19, 2012 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: eastview, tn
Posts: 28
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thanks tracy, i hadn't even considered that, you don't see lettuce presented that way in supermarkets or even green grocers here.
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May 19, 2012 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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The living lettuces sold here are usually a head of butter crunch, with roots, in a plastic container that has something to keep the roots moist. I haven't studied the containers because I've never purchased one, they're quite expensive.
I'm sure it's hydroponically grown lettuce but I don't know why you couldn't do a very similar thing with your dirt grown lettuce. I wonder how they would sell if you actually "planted " them in small pots of potting soil? They could harvest their own garden fresh lettuce! |
May 21, 2012 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 54
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How do you keep lettuce from wilting? It is called ICE my friend. All lettuce, especially romaine comes packed in ice at the supermarket.
It depends on your size of operation. I am assuming it is on the small size, as a crushed ice machine is a staple on a larger market farm. |
May 21, 2012 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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You can use Ice water, are you selling the lettuce in bundles wrapped in plastic? If you are not then you can put the lettuce cut end in ice water, it will keep the lettuce irrigated and crisp. If we don't put lettuce in ice water here after it's cut then by the time I get home it would be wilted.
It sounds like you are using the cut and come again method making ice water a very good candidate.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
May 22, 2012 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: eastview, tn
Posts: 28
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yes, cut and come again. perfect answer, i was wondering about ice water and keeping lettuce cut end down. i plan to use this for thursdays market
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May 22, 2012 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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I would try some at home before the weekend and see how cold the water will stay and how long it takes the lettuce to begin wilting. This will give you the ability to know if you will need more ice or not, of course at home you probably won't be opening the cooler often like at the market.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
May 22, 2012 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Walla Walla, Washington
Posts: 360
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When I am bringing in lettuce for dinner, I pull the whole plant out (these are mature plants, not thinnings), rinse the excess dirt off the roots with the hose, bring the plant in and wrap the roots in a slightly soggy wet paper towel. I pull off whatever leaves I want, then put the remainder, still with wet paper-towel wrapped roots, into a plastic grocery sack, tie the bag shut, and refrigerate it. The lettuce stays crisp and nice for a couple of weeks.
Maybe there is a way to adapt this approach to your market plants. Last edited by halleone; May 22, 2012 at 04:06 PM. |
May 24, 2012 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ohio
Posts: 4,350
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I cut mine and bag it as I pick it. then it goes straight to the cooler. Mine does well this way. 1 Gallon twist tie bags from walmart is all I put it in. When I close the bag I try to keep as much air in the bag as I can so it doesn't crush the next bag if I am picking a dozen or more bags to go in the coolers.
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carolyn k |
June 25, 2012 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Sfulwood, how is the lettuce doing?
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
June 25, 2012 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: eastview, tn
Posts: 28
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Lettuce is pretty well done until this fall rockporter, thanks for asking. i did finally get better at postponing wilting at the market by keeping the lettuce in a cooler with ice with some water in it( a suggestion from the ville by the way) we had 5 days of 90 degree heat in early may and all my salad greens bolted. i did get one last crop of bibb lettuce before that began to assume a bitter taste.
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June 25, 2012 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Good to hear you could keep it. My lettuce bolted a very long time ago.
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ |
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