[Active/Mixed] The Perpetual Lettuce/Greens Thread

[ERR0R1755]

Lettuce is one of those vegetables that's very easy to grow and very versatile. I like it in salads, my family uses it for sandwiches, and my bird eats the leaves plain.

I have a lot of lettuce seeds, but I thought it would be fun to keep track of different varieties that I grow - and how I grow them.

To start off, here's some Grand Rapids lettuce in a small 10oz bottle. The bottle is filled with plain potting soil (no nutrients), and I water it daily using a nutrient solution of 2ml CALiMAGic and 1 tsp MaxiGrow to 1 gallon of water.
I've found that that ratio works best for me, but your mileage may vary.

[waterphoenix]

It is just thriving in there. Doesn't look like it minds being rootbound at all. Good idea to grow it in a bottle. Does it have drainage holes?

[ERR0R1755]

Sept 1, 2020 6:09:22 GMT -5 waterphoenix said:

It is just thriving in there. Doesn't look like it minds being rootbound at all. Good idea to grow it in a bottle. Does it have drainage holes?

Nope - no drainage holes. I normally water it until I can see the water just starting to collect at the bottom.

[waterphoenix]

I like this idea for a family in the winter, am going to share with my friend who has 3 little kids at home.

[Shawn]

Talk about roots lol.  they are acting like a sponge retaining water

[ERR0R1755]

Ended that first lettuce bottle today since it bolted / went to seed. I have two more lettuce plants started in bottles, as well as four in the five gallon bucket I had used for my DWC cucumber.
(since I ended that project early, it still had about four gallons of nutrient solution left - I watered it down a bit and decided to use it up with some lettuce)

[ERR0R1755]

Here's my Garden Mesclun Blend from Urban Farmer! I think the spindly one in the back is endive, but I'm not sure.
There's some algae in the bucket, so I'll want to coat the bucket and lid with paint next time I grow something.
(I've also learned that I prefer one hole per lid rather than four)

[ERR0R1755]

This lettuce is doing well, despite the massive amount of algae in the bucket.

[ERR0R1755]

Harvested some lettuce!
I'm not sure what the two things in the back are, and more importantly, I don't know if they're edible. I don't think I'll ever buy a lettuce seed blend again.

[ERR0R1755]

This is definitely not lettuce. Identification help would be appreciated!
(if it's not edible, I want to get rid of it. If it is edible, I want to eat it)

According to the product listing, it should be either lettuce, endive, or radicchio.
I've contacted the store as well to see if they can identify it.

[ERR0R1755]

It was mustard! Not sure what type, but it was definitely mustard.

I ended the 5 gallon bucket today.
Top Left: This mustard is what is primarily seen in the photo. The entire net cup was just filled with little shoots of mustard.
Top Right: This mustard looked a bit like thistle (minus the thorns), but it formed one thick stem at the base with lots of leaves.
Bottom Left: This lettuce never regrew after I harvested it (probably due to the mustard shading it out).
Bottom Right: This lettuce regrew, but when I cut it I noticed the white sticky sap, meaning that it was in the bolting process. I'm not surprised with how hot this tent gets.

The bucket was almost pitch black with algae, due to how much light got in. The lid also turned out to be not food grade (oops) so it was leeching dye when water built up on it.
I bought two new buckets and two new lids, both food grade. Light can still get in through them so I will put on a few new coats of paint, but I think I will only put one hole in the lid and use these buckets for larger plants like peppers.

I'll start a new lettuce project soon in a gallon Kratky.

[Shawn]

At least you know what it was now.  Great project with some great finds.  Like the non-food grade lid or the excessive light getting into the bucket.  Once again, great experiment and looking forward to what you do next.

[ERR0R1755]

Put 4x Grand Rapids Lettuce seeds in an official AeroGarden pod (from one the DIY Seed Kits), will move into a gallon jug once it sprouts and I've thinned them out.

[ERR0R1755]

Well, none of those seeds sprouted and instead of growing lettuce, I was growing mold.

Started some more of the mesclun mix in some coco coir, with plans to move a few into (medium-less) Kratky containers.
I really want to figure out how to best start seeds for medium-less hydroponics, because that will save me money by eliminating the need for pods/rockwool/cups/coir/etc.

[ERR0R1755]

Six of the seeds sprouted, so I'm trying something new and seeing if I can use straws to hold up the initial seedlings (as well as encourage downward root growth).

[ERR0R1755]

Trying something out - I built a self-wicking container out of an old bottle, used a receipt as mulch, and added one of the seedlings from the straws above to it.

[ERR0R1755]

Surprisingly, the straw trick seems to be working. It would be interesting to try this with other seedlings as well.

[ERR0R1755]

I am constantly reminded of why I prefer hydroponics. Found some very tiny white millipede-like bugs in the self-wicking container, as well as in a few other seedlings I had started at the same time. Most likely something in the potting soil, so I will have to microwave it before I use it from now on.

[Shawn]

I hate bugs.  One of the reasons I never bring plants into the house that have dirt.

[kihokiho]

Sept 21, 2020 18:46:13 GMT -5 ERR0R1755 said:

Here's my Garden Mesclun Blend from Urban Farmer! I think the spindly one in the back is endive, but I'm not sure.
There's some algae in the bucket, so I'll want to coat the bucket and lid with paint next time I grow something.
(I've also learned that I prefer one hole per lid rather than four)