how to keep lettuce from wilting at farmers market

sfulwood · May 19, 2012

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?

Tracydr · May 19, 2012

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?

sfulwood · May 19, 2012

thanks tracy, i hadn't even considered that, you don't see lettuce presented that way in supermarkets or even green grocers here.

Tracydr · May 19, 2012

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!

moon1234 · May 21, 2012

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.

Rockporter · May 21, 2012

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.

sfulwood · May 22, 2012

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

Rockporter · May 22, 2012

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.

halleone · May 22, 2012

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.

clkeiper · May 24, 2012

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.

Rockporter · June 25, 2012

Sfulwood, how is the lettuce doing?

sfulwood · June 25, 2012

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.

Rockporter · June 25, 2012

Good to hear you could keep it. My lettuce bolted a very long time ago.

May 19, 2012	#1
sfulwood Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: eastview, tn Posts: 28	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?

May 21, 2012	#6
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

May 22, 2012	#8
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	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. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

May 22, 2012	#9
halleone Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Walla Walla, Washington Posts: 360	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
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	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. __________________ carolyn k

May 19, 2012	#2
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	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?

May 21, 2012	#5
moon1234 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 54	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.

June 25, 2012	#11
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	Sfulwood, how is the lettuce doing? __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~