I've got a small garden going this year for the first time, and have
planted leaf lettuce that has been going fine. I was wondering since
the lettuce is starting to bolt, can I plant something in this space at
this time of year? What would do well? I've got peppers growing around
the lettuce now so whatever I plant needs to like some light shade. The
space I'm talking about is only about 2' by 6'. I'm in zone 6a.

--
Pat

Large leaf basil, if you think a tomato and lettuce sandwich was good
wait until you do tomato and basil with bacon or gorgonzola .
It grows fast in the warmth.

any fall green. collard, beets, more lettuce, kale, pak choi, whatever
you like.

In article ,
PatK wrote:

I've got a small garden going this year for the first time, and have
planted leaf lettuce that has been going fine. I was wondering since
the lettuce is starting to bolt, can I plant something in this space at
this time of year? What would do well? I've got peppers growing around
the lettuce now so whatever I plant needs to like some light shade. The
space I'm talking about is only about 2' by 6'. I'm in zone 6a.

Bush beans.

Priscilla
--
"Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what
the hell happened." -- Cora Harvey Armstrong

wrote:

Large leaf basil, if you think a tomato and lettuce sandwich was good
wait until you do tomato and basil with bacon or gorgonzola .
It grows fast in the warmth.



That would be a great idea except that I already have some growing in a
flat next to my back porch! Any other ideas? G

--
Pat

Priscilla Ballou wrote:

In article ,
PatK wrote:



I've got a small garden going this year for the first time, and have
planted leaf lettuce that has been going fine. I was wondering since
the lettuce is starting to bolt, can I plant something in this space at
this time of year? What would do well? I've got peppers growing around
the lettuce now so whatever I plant needs to like some light shade. The
space I'm talking about is only about 2' by 6'. I'm in zone 6a.



Bush beans.

Priscilla


Wouldn't that be a bit big considering I've already got peppers growing
in there too?

--
Pat

PatK expounded:

I've got a small garden going this year for the first time, and have
planted leaf lettuce that has been going fine. I was wondering since
the lettuce is starting to bolt, can I plant something in this space at
this time of year? What would do well? I've got peppers growing around
the lettuce now so whatever I plant needs to like some light shade. The
space I'm talking about is only about 2' by 6'. I'm in zone 6a.

How about.....more lettuce? I'm about to replant mine, I'll add some
compost (after pulling the roots) and seed in some new lettuce. I'll
shade the bed a bit to get things going and have lots of fresh lettuce
when the first tomatoes come in.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

it is late for bush beans in zone 6. plant something that is ready in
50 days, as I suggested.

it is late for bush beans in zone 6. plant something that is ready in
50 days, as I suggested.

In article . com,
"simy1" wrote:

it is late for bush beans in zone 6. plant something that is ready in
50 days, as I suggested.

This is about when my mother would put in her second planting of beans
in zone 5!

Priscilla
--
"Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what
the hell happened." -- Cora Harvey Armstrong

Ann wrote:

PatK expounded:



I've got a small garden going this year for the first time, and have
planted leaf lettuce that has been going fine. I was wondering since
the lettuce is starting to bolt, can I plant something in this space at
this time of year? What would do well? I've got peppers growing around
the lettuce now so whatever I plant needs to like some light shade. The
space I'm talking about is only about 2' by 6'. I'm in zone 6a.



How about.....more lettuce? I'm about to replant mine, I'll add some
compost (after pulling the roots) and seed in some new lettuce. I'll
shade the bed a bit to get things going and have lots of fresh lettuce
when the first tomatoes come in.


Oh okay. I thought you weren't supposed to plant lettuce in the same
place twice in a row? I remember reading that somewhere. Cool. Well,
I'll try that. Thanks! G

Pat

PatK expounded:

Oh okay. I thought you weren't supposed to plant lettuce in the same
place twice in a row? I remember reading that somewhere. Cool. Well,
I'll try that. Thanks! G

There isn't a problem for a season, I've found, but I move the
planting area for next year.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

Ann wrote:

PatK expounded:



Oh okay. I thought you weren't supposed to plant lettuce in the same
place twice in a row? I remember reading that somewhere. Cool. Well,
I'll try that. Thanks! G



There isn't a problem for a season, I've found, but I move the
planting area for next year.


Will do. Thanks again.

--
Pat

Plant more lettuce.

Most home gardeners think of spring as the time to plant and summer as
the time to start harvesting. Lettuce takes about 60 days (longer for
romaine), so when it's ready you should eat it. All. This business of
taking a couple leaves off to make the plant last longer doesn't work.
The lettuce eventually bolts and gets bitter.

If you have a dozen heads of lettuce that are ready to harvest and don't
want to be eating nothing but lettuce for the next week, pull the plants
up with the root attached. Wash the root off and put the plant in a bag
with a little water on the roots and put the whole thing in the fridge.
It will last a week or three there.

Better to plant lettuce every 2-3 weeks. That ensures you a continuous
supply of lettuce. As a farmer, I seed lettuce every week until early
August. In New England, it gets cold after September, so the lettuce
takes significantly longer than 60 days. Last year I harvested my last
lettuce out of the field December 21st (I covered it for the frosty
nights). (That was somewhat unusual, as we had no temperatures below
about 15 F before that). Note that lettuce in the field will take
temperatures down to 25F without much problem, although some varieties
will show some tipburn at those temperatures. Red edge lettuce seems to
be more resistant to that problem (maybe because the brown edges look
similar to the natural red edges).

Since lettuce doesn't like hot weather, watch your lettuce for signs of
bolting (elongated heads, stretching of the stem between leaves, etc.).
If you see preliminary signs, pick the lettuce (even if it's small) and
store it as above or cut it up and make lettuce mix. Cut lettuce mix
doesn't last in the fridge as long as heads (the cut edges start to
brown), but it's edible for a week or more.

To facilitate lettuce planting, I start lettuce in very small cells (200
to a 10" x 20" flat, cells are about 3/4" square, 1" deep), one seed per
cell. Since lettuce seed is hard to handle on an individual basis, I buy
pelleted lettuce seed. It is basically lettuce seed with a clay coating
to produce a sphere about 1/8" in diameter, something you can handle
easily with your fingers. I get them in packages of 10,000, but I've
seen them advertised in packages of 250, at a price not unreasonable for
a home gardener. After 3-4 weeks, the roots fill the small cell so that
the plant comes out easily and can be planted directly in the garden at
the proper spacing (I use 12" spacing). In hot weather, germination is a
problem, so as soon as I put the seeds in the cells and water them, I
place the flat in a cool place (60-75 F) for 2 days, then put them
outdoors. Note that when the plants start to size up, these small cells
dry out quickly, so you might have to water them twice a day in hot dry
weather. Once in the morning before going to work and again when coming
home seems to work OK generally. When they start to dry out regularly,
get them out of the cells and into the ground. The plants come out more
easily if you soak the cells a half hour before pulling the plants out.

If you don't have a 200 size tray, check with your local greenhouse to
see if they will sell you one. they're thin plastic, so you can cut them
up with scissors to accommodate the amount of lettuce you are going to
use. If they don't use 200 trays, anything up to 392 might work,
although the smaller cells (larger number of cells) dry out more
quickly. However, the roots fill the smaller cells more quickly, so the
plant will come out for transplanting more quickly. Above 392, they
might require water more than twice a day, and you might encounter
problems with the lettuce plants getting twined together and hard to
remove. Going to lower numbers, you will have to leave the plants in the
cells longer. If the roots don't fill the cell, the plant doesn't come
out cleanly, and transplant shock is an issue. However, lettuce is
tough, so it will probably survive. Just be sure you water the plants as
soon as they are transplanted. That improves contact between the garden
soil and the new plant roots, so the plant can more easily develop its
roots.

PatK wrote:
I've got a small garden going this year for the first time, and have
planted leaf lettuce that has been going fine. I was wondering since
the lettuce is starting to bolt, can I plant something in this space at
this time of year? What would do well? I've got peppers growing around
the lettuce now so whatever I plant needs to like some light shade. The
space I'm talking about is only about 2' by 6'. I'm in zone 6a.

dps wrote:

Plant more lettuce.

Most home gardeners think of spring as the time to plant and summer as
the time to start harvesting. Lettuce takes about 60 days (longer for
romaine), so when it's ready you should eat it. All. This business of
taking a couple leaves off to make the plant last longer doesn't work.
The lettuce eventually bolts and gets bitter.

If you have a dozen heads of lettuce that are ready to harvest and
don't want to be eating nothing but lettuce for the next week, pull
the plants up with the root attached. Wash the root off and put the
plant in a bag with a little water on the roots and put the whole
thing in the fridge. It will last a week or three there.

Better to plant lettuce every 2-3 weeks. That ensures you a continuous
supply of lettuce. As a farmer, I seed lettuce every week until early
August. In New England, it gets cold after September, so the lettuce
takes significantly longer than 60 days. Last year I harvested my last
lettuce out of the field December 21st (I covered it for the frosty
nights). (That was somewhat unusual, as we had no temperatures below
about 15 F before that). Note that lettuce in the field will take
temperatures down to 25F without much problem, although some varieties
will show some tipburn at those temperatures. Red edge lettuce seems
to be more resistant to that problem (maybe because the brown edges
look similar to the natural red edges).

Since lettuce doesn't like hot weather, watch your lettuce for signs
of bolting (elongated heads, stretching of the stem between leaves,
etc.). If you see preliminary signs, pick the lettuce (even if it's
small) and store it as above or cut it up and make lettuce mix. Cut
lettuce mix doesn't last in the fridge as long as heads (the cut edges
start to brown), but it's edible for a week or more.

To facilitate lettuce planting, I start lettuce in very small cells
(200 to a 10" x 20" flat, cells are about 3/4" square, 1" deep), one
seed per cell. Since lettuce seed is hard to handle on an individual
basis, I buy pelleted lettuce seed. It is basically lettuce seed with
a clay coating to produce a sphere about 1/8" in diameter, something
you can handle easily with your fingers. I get them in packages of
10,000, but I've seen them advertised in packages of 250, at a price
not unreasonable for a home gardener. After 3-4 weeks, the roots fill
the small cell so that the plant comes out easily and can be planted
directly in the garden at the proper spacing (I use 12" spacing). In
hot weather, germination is a problem, so as soon as I put the seeds
in the cells and water them, I place the flat in a cool place (60-75
F) for 2 days, then put them outdoors. Note that when the plants start
to size up, these small cells dry out quickly, so you might have to
water them twice a day in hot dry weather. Once in the morning before
going to work and again when coming home seems to work OK generally.
When they start to dry out regularly, get them out of the cells and
into the ground. The plants come out more easily if you soak the cells
a half hour before pulling the plants out.

If you don't have a 200 size tray, check with your local greenhouse to
see if they will sell you one. they're thin plastic, so you can cut
them up with scissors to accommodate the amount of lettuce you are
going to use. If they don't use 200 trays, anything up to 392 might
work, although the smaller cells (larger number of cells) dry out more
quickly. However, the roots fill the smaller cells more quickly, so
the plant will come out for transplanting more quickly. Above 392,
they might require water more than twice a day, and you might
encounter problems with the lettuce plants getting twined together and
hard to remove. Going to lower numbers, you will have to leave the
plants in the cells longer. If the roots don't fill the cell, the
plant doesn't come out cleanly, and transplant shock is an issue.
However, lettuce is tough, so it will probably survive. Just be sure
you water the plants as soon as they are transplanted. That improves
contact between the garden soil and the new plant roots, so the plant
can more easily develop its roots.

PatK wrote:

I've got a small garden going this year for the first time, and have
planted leaf lettuce that has been going fine. I was wondering since
the lettuce is starting to bolt, can I plant something in this space
at this time of year? What would do well? I've got peppers growing
around the lettuce now so whatever I plant needs to like some light
shade. The space I'm talking about is only about 2' by 6'. I'm in
zone 6a.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll plant more lettuce! G
Pat