Growing Salad Mix, Radishes.. etc.

[creeker]

I'm late coming to this thread, just found it. The earlier discussion of varieties including Salanove is very interesting. I tried some mixed salanova varieties (home gardeners package) with not too good results, slow growing and low survival once planted out. Also priced above most kinds. Then I found that High Mowing has 5 varieties that worked very well for me in the same covered, then shaded raised bed. Have taken one cutting and am looking to see which varieties regrow best. The seed is also pelleted and much lower in price than salanova. Plus the lettuce tastes great.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by creeker

I'm late coming to this thread, just found it. The earlier discussion of varieties including Salanove is very interesting. I tried some mixed salanova varieties (home gardeners package) with not too good results, slow growing and low survival once planted out. Also priced above most kinds. Then I found that High Mowing has 5 varieties that worked very well for me in the same covered, then shaded raised bed. Have taken one cutting and am looking to see which varieties regrow best. The seed is also pelleted and much lower in price than salanova. Plus the lettuce tastes great.

I really dont know what to think of Salanova, myself. They make a lot of claims that I only see 1 or 2 people having that kind of success with. I have never tried it, and honestly dont see myself ever trying. At one time I thought about it, but moved on.


There are a whole bunch of varieties out there to try, something has to work. So far my own blend is holding up quite well. Now that the temps are warming up a bit, I have been watering 2-3 times daily. In order to keep the greens going my plans involve a shade cloth and misting heads on a timer.


If the above works out, the next step is to build a shade house. Probably 12x48.

[clkeiper]

I don't wash my greens and my customers know it. It am upfront with them
We also have a one cut rule in our state. Check your health Dept for guidelines as to what you can do.
I use the one gallon twist tie bags from Walmart. 4.00/100 bags I think is about what they cost.
If the greens are bolting it is too hot for them. Look for heat tolerant varieties. There are some out there. I think one is called Nevada. Grow them with shade cloth or floating row cover to keep the heat off them if you can.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

I don't wash my greens and my customers know it. It am upfront with them
We also have a one cut rule in our state. Check your health Dept for guidelines as to what you can do.
I use the one gallon twist tie bags from Walmart. 4.00/100 bags I think is about what they cost.
If the greens are bolting it is too hot for them. Look for heat tolerant varieties. There are some out there. I think one is called Nevada. Grow them with shade cloth or floating row cover to keep the heat off them if you can.

Thank you for your input. Always appreciate it. I have never heard of the 1 cut rule. Thats something I will have to look into. Meanwhile, I stopped by my local Restaurant Supply store and they had a couple different size bags. I bought a box of 1000, for $30. I want to say they are 8x5x15? Something like that.


I harvested today, and DID NOT wash. I have every intention of letting the customer know to wash before consuming. Besides, I assume most folks are going to wash anyways when they prepare their meal, so I dont see it being a big deal.


Here is the finished product. About 1/2 pound.

[clkeiper]

That looks good.

[FourOaks]

So the bagged Salad Mix sold well. I only had enough cut greens to make 5 bags, so thats what I took. We sold 4 of the 5 bags. I think it really comes down to the fact that customers dont like to buy the last of any item. No big deal. We brought it home and lunch included some of the greens.


So now I am onto my larger and improved salad bed. A 4x12 bed loaded with seed from corner to corner. I have been watering 3 times daily, to encourage germination. Long term I have no intentions of being tied down to watering manually, especially knowing that as soon as the heat ratchets up, im really going to have to stay up on the watering. On a side note, all the watering has paid off, Im already seeing germination.


After this mornings market, I went to Lowes and picked up some circular mister/sprayers and spray stakes.







These sprayers do the trick. Next purchase is shade cloth.

[FourOaks]

Well, I ordered a piece of shade cloth. Found a good deal on a 50% shade piece on Amazon. Should be here Tuesday.


This evening after the misters/sprinklers had a chance to run a couple of times, I noticed that there is clearly increased growth on the newly germ. seeds. This seems rather promising.


Im hoping this allows me to have summer greens, especially if nobody else has them at the market.

[Barb_FL]

Your bagged lettuce looks great! Way better than any store bought lettuce. I would definitely buy when we can't grow lettuce here due to heat. How much do you sell that for at the market?

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Your bagged lettuce looks great! Way better than any store bought lettuce. I would definitely buy when we can't grow lettuce here due to heat. How much do you sell that for at the market?

Thanks for the compliments. This is my first year being successful with lettuce, as it usually bolts. The long cool weather has really helped, as much as we are all tired of it.


Yesterday the half pound bags went for $3. The 4 customers who bought, complimented that it was such a great bargain. So Im thinking I could raise the price a bit and still do ok. My next batch of lettuce I am attempting to go Organic with, which would justify a price increase. Also, out of about 30 vendors yesterday, I think there was only 1 other with salad greens. Also, if this works out and I am the only one producing salad greens in the Summer, then a price increase might be justified.


Im in a unique position that I am experimenting with new crops and selling at a new-to-me market. So I am still trying to gauge the customer base. Its entirely different then my old market.

[BigVanVader]

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but most Farmers trying to grow lettuce in Summer use overhead irrigation and water several times a day especially during hot weather. I also recall Curtis Stone trying to use shade cloth on his lettuce and not being successful. Ray Tyler in Tennessee has been very successful at growing salad mix during the summer and where he is located can get up to a hundred degrees. I actually have bought the irrigation to try his method, but have yet to have time to install it. Perhaps next year. I wish you the best of luck.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but most Farmers trying to grow lettuce in Summer use overhead irrigation and water several times a day especially during hot weather. I also recall Curtis Stone trying to use shade cloth on his lettuce and not being successful. Ray Tyler in Tennessee has been very successful at growing salad mix during the summer and where he is located can get up to a hundred degrees. I actually have bought the irrigation to try his method, but have yet to have time to install it. Perhaps next year. I wish you the best of luck.

Vader... yep using misters here to cool the lettuce down. I think the 50% shade is just too shady. I got very leggy growth. All though I will say the Mustard Greens looked pretty good, but... the main issue, ya' know how various lettuces will grow at different rates? Well, with the shade cloth, the differences in size were exaggerated. So, other then the Mustard, the lettuces were mostly stem.


I will say though, that I am learning from this. So far this is what I have determined.


1. If shade cloth is needed due to heat, then grow 1 variety of lettuce under it. Heads will probably do better, but dense pack for cut greens will probably be ok, once the appropriate shade and water is determined.


2. If shade cloth is not needed, then grow whatever you like. But, based on what I learned previously, growing different lettuces in the same bed is problematic due to different maturity rates. So, different varieties, different beds.


Going forward, for the Summer, im going to try individual heads, be they full size or mini heads. Im also going to order some 30% shade cloth. See how that does. I might get 40% as well, to determine if there is a threshold that is tolerable.


I did sow 6 plug trays (84 count) of both Romaine and Butter Crunch this afternoon. I decided to take advantage of the shade cloth and misters that are already setup. I put the trays under the shade cloth. Ill let the misters keep them moist thru germ. Hopefully by the time they are ready to transplant, Ill have the shade cloth waiting.


These plugs will be transplanted where the Snap Peas currently are, which are about shot anyways.

[BigVanVader]

The mini heads from Johnny did great for me last year. Real eye catcher and trouble free.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

The mini heads from Johnny did great for me last year. Real eye catcher and trouble free.

Did you try the "Mini Romaine Trio"? Or similar? If you recall, how well did they handle the heat? In the shade? Etc.


If you dont mind my inquisitive mind.

[BigVanVader]

Yes I did the trio, and it was a fall planting BUT other lettuces I planted did get bitter after a stretch of hot days while they did not. I had a lot of comments like how beautiful the heads were and how delicious they were. I did 2 per bag or 3 small heads per for $3. Sounds cheap but I was able to fit 3x the heads in the same space and shorter dtm. I do recall the light red color seemed less vigorous, and the color wasn't that great. This year im just doing red/green. The co-op grocery store loved them as well.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Yes I did the trio, and it was a fall planting BUT other lettuces I planted did get bitter after a stretch of hot days while they did not. I had a lot of comments like how beautiful the heads were and how delicious they were. I did 2 per bag or 3 small heads per for $3. Sounds cheap but I was able to fit 3x the heads in the same space and shorter dtm. I do recall the light red color seemed less vigorous, and the color wasn't that great. This year im just doing red/green. The co-op grocery store loved them as well.

You got to start your prices somewhere, so $3 sounds like a good starting place. You have to see what your Market will tolerate. When you say that the co-op loved the lettuce, was that as seedlings? Or ready to sell heads?


Sending you a PM BTW...