Your Favorite Lettuce

[kath]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Slimy Slugs live under ground too and can come up through the soil.
I just killed one last night in December of all times.

Worth

We're still finding big cutworms at night if we go out with a flashlight and shine it on the spinach.

I just sowed lettuce seed indoors yesterday and will transplant it into containers in the greenhouse when the plants are big enough- first time I've sown so early but I figure the plants in the garden will have to die eventually when winter really arrives and I'm so spoiled having had it this far into winter that I want to keep those salads coming!

I love shopping for new lettuce seeds- it's almost as easy to get hooked on lettuce trialing as it is on tomatoes.Don't have any super favorites yet because there are still so many to try, but I really like Winter Density and Jericho and some unknown varieties that have shown up in various mixes that I've saved seeds for.

[Worth1]

Sowed on the 23rd sprouted on the 26th.
I wasn't expecting to see that, they have been outside all this time.
Worth
IMG_20151226_24394.jpg

[Jonnyhat]

as far as slugs are concerned, I put washed pickle jar lids full of beer outside, the slugs go nuts for it... so much so they explode

[Gardeneer]

Looks nice, Worth. Ready for salad in a few weeks.

I will start / sow some in the cold frame, in Feb when our average temperatures are 37L to 50H.
I like Mesclun mix . You get a few other thing in it too like mustard green, arugula, ..
I might also mix in some of my fave lettuce seeds.

Gardeneer

[bower]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Yeah, but I know where them slugs hide, not in the open in the middle of garden bed.

Nylon tulle is a versatile tool. It can even keep the rabbit and rats , squirrels away. It has a Saran Wrap factors (tangling) that those animals don't like it. It feels like a trap to them and they avoid their feet getting tangled up in the tulle. You heard it here first. .

If nylon tulle works for slugs, I want to hear about it!
Worth is right, they lay their eggs in soil and come up through it anywhere, even though they do love a rock to hide under. This summer I used garden compost for my greenhouse tomatoes and for the first time ever, had slugs in the canopy eating my tomatoes. I used some of those slug baits but they didn't work. They just kept coming.
I have way better lettuce just growing it in a flat in a shady spot in the greenhouse, away from those slimy suckers. ie in potting soil/compost that didn't come with slugs.
As regards rabbits and squirrels and even moose, a bit of flapping row cover seems to have the same magic as tulle... rustic look but I'm likin it!

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by bower

If nylon tulle works for slugs, I want to hear about it!
Worth is right, they lay their eggs in soil and come up through it anywhere, even though they do love a rock to hide under. This summer I used garden compost for my greenhouse tomatoes and for the first time ever, had slugs in the canopy eating my tomatoes. I used some of those slug baits but they didn't work. They just kept coming.
I have way better lettuce just growing it in a flat in a shady spot in the greenhouse, away from those slimy suckers. ie in potting soil/compost that didn't come with slugs.
As regards rabbits and squirrels and even moose, a bit of flapping row cover seems to have the same magic as tulle... rustic look but I'm likin it!

Slugs don't live in the middle of bed/garden. They hide in the cracks, near / under the rocks, during the day and come out at nigh, after dusk. Also during overcast/rainy day. You can create a designed hiding place for them ; like a few small rocks, cardboard. The go and kill them. They hide the same way as Earwigs. But Earwigs are smart and can run and hide fast. Slugs sometimes travel some distance to find a place to hide. They cannot dig and go down , say like an earthworm.
Obviously, if you cover a big area w/ NT, where there are places (rocks, cracks ..) in it that slugs can hide, then it might not work. Nylon tulle works to isolate a plant or small group of plants. I find it effective to protect plants in early/small stage. For example, a few slugs are not going to put a dent on a tomato plant that is already few feet tall. You don't care if they chew on the lower leaves. . But a big fat slug can eat a basil plant in one sitting. NT is actually better than using slug killers. at very small cost.
Slug bates are good too. They kill the slugs. You can also use coarse salt, when you know it is not going to raining and you are not going to water your plants.
Another effective way is hunting them. Go w/ a flash lite in one hand and a a salt shaker in the other. Or a bamboo skewer. Just push it into their belly, one after another ... and when done put it somewhere that some birds want to eat them.
I do all the methods very early on , trying to reduce their future population. JMO

[Worth1]

I thought this picture looked cool I thought I would share it.
They are going back outside tomorrow.
I was worried about the storm.
Worth

IMG_20151227_8806.jpg

[roper2008]

I like crispy lettuces. Not a big fan of the soft ones, but will eat them. I bought
seed for a new lettuce 'Winter Density', but I think I may have to order Nevada too.

[oakley]

Salad varieties and tomatoes are the bulk of my garden.

Usually 50 or more varieties every season...toms maybe 75 varieties and ever changing trials.

Like tomatoes, only a handful are on my every year list. I keep trying new ones.
And a good way to add to that is the sale pages on johnnys. I think they have a dozen different varieties at any given time for just a buck a packet.

I placed my order early this year...around Thanksgiving. (i had a focused rainy Sunday and organized my needs) : )

I also grow micro greens all winter using a south window and my grow light set-up for seed starting. Using the plastic clam shells i always have a shell ready to harvest, then just keep then growing in succession.
With growing conditions so varied every year i find i need many options for success. RedSails is my SunGold and always has prime real estate. Along with a mesculn mix i make. I plant tight in succession and use a shade frame when it gets hot.

Years ago i would order from leJardin, their 25cent seed packets. Probably where my try everything obsession began.

[smithmal]

How long do lettuce seeds last? I read somewhere that new lettuce seeds must be harvested/purchased each year.

smithmal

[oakley]

I've read that as well but i must be storing seed properly as my salad seed lasts a few years. It is one seed that i do keep in a healthy rotation and make a mesculn mix with some older packets. I'm sure the germination rate may be a bit less but have not noticed a big difference.

It is one crop in years past where i kept running out of seed as i start a new row weekly or bi-weekly and keep it going all summer. (a row for me is just 1ft x 3ft in my raised salad bed)

The new varieties i just ordered will get started early for head. I'm always traialing to find the slow-bolters for my climate. I seem to get cold, chilly, chilly, then boom, hot.

Planting tight has always worked best for me so i do go through seed and its one crop i don't blink at the cost much. For 20-30 bucks a year i get a sizable harvest. Often more than we can consume so i drop off bags at the senior center.

[kath]

Originally Posted by smithmal

How long do lettuce seeds last? I read somewhere that new lettuce seeds must be harvested/purchased each year.

smithmal

I'm careful to keep the seeds cool and dry and have found that most have lasted at least 5 years.

[Gardeneer]

Question :
What is another name for Boston Lettuce or something close to that.
That is my favorit among those sold in stores and they don't always have it.
Thanks
Gardeneer

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Question :
What is another name for Boston Lettuce or something close to that.
That is my favorit among those sold in stores and they don't always have it.
Thanks
Gardeneer

They are bib type lettuce AKA limestone AKA butter head.
These are all what you are looking for.
There are a gajillian verities.

Worth

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

They are bib type lettuce AKA limestone AKA butter head.
These are all what you are looking for.
There are a gajillian verities.

Worth

Thanks, Worth .
I have grown bib lettuce in the past. It looked like Boston Lettuce.
I will grow some this spring.

Gardeneer.