Your Favorite Lettuce

[Worth1]

I think this would be a fantastic container to grow a head of romaine lettuce in.
What do you guys think?
Three liters.
Worth
IMG_20160104_49674.jpg

[bower]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I think this would be a fantastic container to grow a head of romaine lettuce in.
What do you guys think?
Three liters.
Worth
Attachment 55450

Narrow shapes are great for indoors. Would be deep enough for lettuce even on its side. Metal is a problem though.
I tried using empty oil cans filled with water as heat storage mass.. But the oil residue didn't keep them from rusting out after a couple of years.
Have used a few coffee cans in the garden, they rust really fast and are unfit in a single season here in the acidic, wet north.
I'm always eye out for container sizes that are shop light optimal, but it's rare to find them.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by bower

Narrow shapes are great for indoors. Would be deep enough for lettuce even on its side. Metal is a problem though.
I tried using empty oil cans filled with water as heat storage mass.. But the oil residue didn't keep them from rusting out after a couple of years.
Have used a few coffee cans in the garden, they rust really fast and are unfit in a single season here in the acidic, wet north.
I'm always eye out for container sizes that are shop light optimal, but it's rare to find them.

Not worried about it rusting that is an easy fix.
Even then it is just using something one more time before it goes in the trash.
On a side not to anyone that buys oil like this.
It was completely empty and I cut the top off with the European style can opener.
It had about 1/3 of a cup or 75 ML of oil left in it.

Worth

[jillian]

haha i had to look twice before I found it! he is cute!

[imp]

I think I would be more tempted to try a smaller mounding type basil in that can- a nod to pesto sort of thing. Pretty can, though.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Not worried about it rusting that is an easy fix.
Even then it is just using something one more time before it goes in the trash.
On a side not to anyone that buys oil like this.
It was completely empty and I cut the top off with the European style can opener.
It had about 1/3 of a cup or 75 ML of oil left in it.

Worth

I can remember mom taking a church key can opener to one of the corners to get the last of the oil out. You could never get it out of that spout they put in the top!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by jillian

haha i had to look twice before I found it! he is cute!

I didn't think you saw it when you took the pictuer.

Originally Posted by imp

I think I would be more tempted to try a smaller mounding type basil in that can- a nod to pesto sort of thing. Pretty can, though.

I like the idea of a tall plant in a tall container.
I have grown basil before and to me it is a waste of time.
I simply dont eat that much of it.
Got burned out on it many years ago.

Worth

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Ginny the Romain is just beautiful.
Do you see the lizard in it?

Worth

Hahaha... I didn't see the lizard! We have lizards everywhere... but not as many of the small green lizards (a type of chameleon?) that we used to have.

Good eye you have there Worth! :-)

Ginny

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Hahaha... I didn't see the lizard! We have lizards everywhere... but not as many of the small green lizards (a type of chameleon?) that we used to have.

Good eye you have there Worth! :-)

Ginny

Sorry it was you not Jillian that took the pictuer.
Oddly it was the first thing I saw.
Worth

[pinklady5]

Each year I forget about growing lettuce partly because I don't know when is the right time to start the seeds. Can someone suggest a time to start indoors and a date to transplant outside or should I just start directly in the garden and when. I came across the Forellenschluss variety and I love it!

[kath]

Originally Posted by pinklady5

Each year I forget about growing lettuce partly because I don't know when is the right time to start the seeds. Can someone suggest a time to start indoors and a date to transplant outside or should I just start directly in the garden and when. I came across the Forellenschluss variety and I love it!

You can sow it in the garden anytime and it will come up by itself- I read that a woman used to sow it on top of the snow! If you want the earliest lettuce, though, I'd start plants indoors ~ 3-4 weeks ahead of plant out. Last year I put plants out at the end of March here and they were fine. I sow seed outdoors in mid to late March depending on the weather/snow cover. Many varieties are good with temps in the upper 20's. You need to harden them off and get them used to the cold a bit and I've always got some heavy row cover handy and hoops in place in case I want to cover them up.

If you don't want to fuss that much, plants should be fine in your area by April 1st. Remember to plant more seeds every 10 days to 2 weeks for a continuous supply.

[Gardeneer]

One head of lettuce in a gallon can, is good, Worth .

Talking about growing:
I was at Lowes , checking seeds. I picked a packet of BIB (Limestone _) 1.3 Gram of seeds. Wow. That will be hundreds of seeds. Tomato seed pack have 70 - 100 mg of seeds by weight, maybe under 30 seeds.
So anyway, I am set to go with my fave lettuce. I drink to that.

Gardeneer

[Worth1]

That little tray I planted I almost went cross eyed planting the seeds.
I use the wet tip of a BBQ skewer to pick up each seed and put it in the furrow.
After it was in the furrow I placed a pencil there so I would know where to put the next seed.
Very time consuming.
Worth

[greenthumbomaha]

This is a fun thread. It's news to me that there were so many intricacies of growing lettuce.

My indoor lettuce (Black Seeded Simpson) is slow going, about two inches, but its a little limp. I have it under lights 24/7 and alternate T5 with fluorescent. One flat is in Miracle Grow potting mix and the other in unfertilized Fertilome. I will try and move things around and get a fan on them. Its much too cold to set them out even for a wee bit.

- Lisa

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

This is a fun thread. It's news to me that there were so many intricacies of growing lettuce.

My indoor lettuce (Black Seeded Simpson) is slow going, about two inches, but its a little limp. I have it under lights 24/7 and alternate T5 with fluorescent. One flat is in Miracle Grow potting mix and the other in unfertilized Fertilome. I will try and move things around and get a fan on them. Its much too cold to set them out even for a wee bit.

- Lisa

You need to cut back on the lights to about 12 hours a day.
Worth