Everyone for lettuce!

Each year Ian our Grower devises a cropping plan.  This year he did so with Cat and Jill, so that we begin to learn more about how to do it.

The plan of course includes lettuce, for each crop share, and for 20-25 weeks of the year.  Which means we need to grow = 1,500-1,900 lettuces.  And of course we don’t want all the lettuces at the same time, so we prepare for succession planting.

 This translates into = 3-4,000 seeds bought then sown fortnightly. Germination has been very good this year, the propagator room helps. 

Seedlings are transplanted into the ground/polytunnel approx. 3 weeks after sowing. And the lovely lettuces are harvested 4-8 weeks after transplantation – depending on the  weather.  This years hot weather, topped up with some wet weather, has meant that many lettuces matured quickly and together in the polytunnels. We have ended up with lots lettuce all at once (not the plan!).

We have = 10 varieties on the go: Butterheads  e.g. All year round (flippy floppy), Vanessa and Brian (looking like ballroom dancers before they are harvested); Iceberg e.g. Gondar (Spear shaped); Cos e.g. Forteleza, Little Gems; and, Batavian e.g. Florine Red (red with crinkly leaves)… 

So far this year @ 988 lettuces have been harvested for the cropshares –  a total of 370kg!  And there are a few more weeks left to go…

In addition we have supplied The Corbridge Larder with some lettuce for the shop and 40 for the food boxes they are delivering families of children at Greenland’s Primary School in Stanley courtesy of L.J.Ross  local author and philanthropist. 

The lettuces smell and taste fantastic – did you know that if you cut and store lettuce upside down, they retain more water and therefore stay fresher?