Blair wrote:

I tried to grow lettuce last summer here in Perth.
Never again - they required constant water

Yeah, managed to **** up the ones the nursery said did fine in the hot weather,
gave them a good watering the evening I transplanted the seedlings and them
managed to let them dry out so badly the next day that they were all wilted and
lying flat on the ground. I had previously only watered once a day, normally late
in the day. They did come back from the dead with water, but then I managed
to do it the next day again. They did come back again with water and I plan to
water them twice a day now to stop that happening again.

I'll probably get another punnet of them and keep them well watered, more
for academic interest than anything else. The stuff we buy in the supermarket
right thru the summer must be coming from somewhere and if they can do it,
I should be able to too. I just want leaves, dont care if I cant get icebergs to grow.

and the odd hot spell just knocked them around too much.

And its ****ing hot around here, it isnt that unusual to get
10 days in a row over 40C with the humidity in single digits.

If you do some washing in that sort of weather, the first batch is
dry on the line by the time you put the second batch on the line.

Still, it must be possible, even if it takes shadecloth and automated watering.

I do plan to try tomatoes inside in winter, I've got massive great patio
doors down most of the north side of the house for passive solar and
they should grow fine in pots inside, behind those doors.

Might try some lettuce in pots inside, I obviously have an evaporative
cooler on the roof and just bask under that in that sort of hot weather.

The seedlings in the punnets are very healthy, in the nursery's shade house.


Jonno wrote

Usually Tasmania.
Some are hydroponically grown too....
Cool roots means problem easily solved...
Grow them in the shade, with limited sunlight.
We Tasmanians are so ingenious....
Whoops I've blown my cover....



On 20/01/2010 5:57 AM, Rod Speed wrote:
Loosecanon wrote

Rod wrote


I dont know that much about growing veg, first time this
spring/summer.

The first couple of batches of lettuce did fine, First batch was
mignonettes,
planted from seedlings from bunnings, transplanted early sep,
took a bit of
time to start but then did fine. Second batch was cos, planted mid
oct from seedlings from bunnings again.


They both went to seed after a very hot spell in mid Nov, got
quite a few leaves to eat until then.


I've since planted some more icebers, 'salad mix', cos, and lollo
rossa, mostly
from seedings from bunnings, but the salad mix from someone
flogging them at the sunday market.


None of them have done much except the icebergs.
They havent died, just havent done much growth wise.


The icebergs did grow noticeably, up to big bigger than a large
grapefruit size,
but no hearts. Since the first two batches had gone to seed I did
start using
leaves off the small icebergs. Now even the icebergs seen to have
stopped.


We have had much hotter weather obviously, in fact a couple of
patches of a week or so over 40C, with some rather
cooler times in between.


They get plenty of water, once a day from one of those
soaker hoses that sort of weep water rather than spray it.


Is it just that they dont like the very hot weather ?


The net seems to suggest that thats the problem.


Are there any varietys that do much better in the very hot
weather ?

Lettuces were originally a winter crop. It was selection of plants
that could withstand hotter conditions in summer that sees us have
them all year round. I would guess that they are not good over 35C
as most would have been developed in the northern
hemisphere.

Yeah, that figures, and like I said, we have had two decent
stretches over 40C too.

Due for another later this week too.


Lettuce prices in real hot weather go through the roof so it would
make sense.

They havent here. I got an iceberg last week for $1.39 which is
about as low as it gets.


My uncle has success over summer in a shadehouse so maybe the
sunlight is to intense outdoors.

OK, I'll try some shadecloth with the 4 varietys that are doing
nothing much.

Thats in a separate area to the latest Lettuce Combo.

Someone must be growing them, maybe they are coming from New
Zealand.

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