So far terrible lettuce year - Page 2

b54red · April 1, 2014

Brian that leaf looks like what I was picking this morning. Some of the plants I pulled out two weeks ago were 2 ft across and looked more like bushes than spinach. Luckily I had set them out in the spaces between broccoli plants so they were over two feet apart and still they were like a hedge a few weeks after the winter broccoli was taken out. I had around 40 plants so I couldn't even keep it picked to give away until I thinned it down to only about 10 plants filling up my compost pile in the process.

I set out my beans this afternoon. I started them in cups in the greenhouse to get a jump on the unusually cold weather this spring. I have been doing that for a few years and find I get fresh beans about two to three weeks earlier and they produce better before it gets really hot.

I may put in a few tomatoes tomorrow but they will only be a few of the hybrids I am using as rootstock for my grafting. They aren't my first choice for flavor but they should be a few weeks earlier than any of my grafts and the sooner I get some maters the better. I'll put them along my back fence where it is too small an area to grow those large indeterminates and the ground there isn't very good but it should be sufficient to get me a few early ones and some sauce toms. I have one bed ready for my grafts so I think I'll try to get the trellis put up before setting them out.

My bell peppers are growing incredibly slow this year. I have several varieties already potted up and outside hardening off but they are still growing so slow it looks like it will be another two or three weeks before they are ready to go in the garden. Maybe these days getting into the 80s will get them moving.

Bill

Tracydr · April 1, 2014

I've always had great luck with lettuce, spinach and chard/beet greens. I know beets love higher pH, does lettuce and spinach like it high,too? I have very high pH and many things struggle but never the salad greens.
I usually just broadcast my salad with a mix, watering daily until it's established. In fact, I recently started a little patch in the shade. We didn't have a garden this fall because I was going through some major joint surgeries.

April 1, 2014	#16
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Brian that leaf looks like what I was picking this morning. Some of the plants I pulled out two weeks ago were 2 ft across and looked more like bushes than spinach. Luckily I had set them out in the spaces between broccoli plants so they were over two feet apart and still they were like a hedge a few weeks after the winter broccoli was taken out. I had around 40 plants so I couldn't even keep it picked to give away until I thinned it down to only about 10 plants filling up my compost pile in the process. I set out my beans this afternoon. I started them in cups in the greenhouse to get a jump on the unusually cold weather this spring. I have been doing that for a few years and find I get fresh beans about two to three weeks earlier and they produce better before it gets really hot. I may put in a few tomatoes tomorrow but they will only be a few of the hybrids I am using as rootstock for my grafting. They aren't my first choice for flavor but they should be a few weeks earlier than any of my grafts and the sooner I get some maters the better. I'll put them along my back fence where it is too small an area to grow those large indeterminates and the ground there isn't very good but it should be sufficient to get me a few early ones and some sauce toms. I have one bed ready for my grafts so I think I'll try to get the trellis put up before setting them out. My bell peppers are growing incredibly slow this year. I have several varieties already potted up and outside hardening off but they are still growing so slow it looks like it will be another two or three weeks before they are ready to go in the garden. Maybe these days getting into the 80s will get them moving. Bill

April 1, 2014	#17
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I've always had great luck with lettuce, spinach and chard/beet greens. I know beets love higher pH, does lettuce and spinach like it high,too? I have very high pH and many things struggle but never the salad greens. I usually just broadcast my salad with a mix, watering daily until it's established. In fact, I recently started a little patch in the shade. We didn't have a garden this fall because I was going through some major joint surgeries.