A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Woohoo Romaine Lettuce

I just planted 7 romaine lettuce seeds. I love romaine lettuce. I may have to grow them in the air conditioning but I will just to have romaine lol. I am determined to find some leafy green veggies that will grow down here in zone 7.

I still have one grand rapid lettuce sprout up. But it hasn't done anything in weeks.

tkhooper hope it works for you, did my grand rapids lettuce and rommaine yesterday so I'm anxious to see what it will do. These plants like cool weather and that's what we have right now.

my one grand rapids is turning yellow and bending over. I think it is a goner. I have such rotten luck with leafy green veggies.

COMPOST and Nitrogen!!!!

it's to small to add compost what about a plant food?

Anything with nitrogen in it...
*green leaves*

Well one romaine lettuce sprout is up. Atleast I hope that's what it is. I hate it when a weed sprouts and I think it's the real thing lol.

That's o.k. I planted lettuce one year and ended up weeding them all. took me awhile to figure out what I had done. All I had was an empty row.

definitely, that's one good reason for starting them indoors. That and my garden is still weed embattled lol.

Lettuce can be planted in shade for mid summer use. It doesn't tend to bolt or get bitter.

Isn't there a line drawing of the seedling on the reverse of the seed package anymore?

Espoma brand Tone organic fertilizer for garden veggies. Its reasonable in price and often on sale during the spring. A 5# bag is $4 and some change. Check Espomas website.

Tip for recognizing seedlings: As leaves develop pinch off a lower growing one. Press it and when dry put the leaf between two pieces of clear contact paper. Some plant leaves don't look the same coming up as when the plant is farther along. For years I pulled johnny-jump-ups out thinking they were weeds. Now I have the leaf for reference and lots of johnny-jump-ups.

Check Park seed Company website for their 'Sucess with seeds' book. For gardeners who enjoy planting seeds it's a must have. Might even inquire at the local library about putting it on their purchase list.

Almost all of my seeds are from trades so I don't have the seedling pictures to work with. That is a fantastic idea to do with the leaves.

And I have the Sucess with seeds' book. Bill sent it to me last year. I've read through the introductory chapters but haven't gotten into the seeds yet.

tk -
You will enjoy 'Sucess with seeds'. The seed color plates come in handy to ID traded seeds when the "nametag" has walked away.

There should be a color plate of the lettuce seedling to use as a ID guide. With so many recalls of greens products it would be a shame to "weed out" your lettuce.