Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

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Some numbers:

Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Hardness (GH) 75
Alkalinity (KH) 100
PH 7.0
Water temp 76 f

Hi Jerrygar,

are you sure about those hardness and Alkalinity results? they seem a bit high. the reason I say that is that hardness measured in dGH or GH is usually multiplied by a factor of about 18 to give you mg/L or ppm. for example your 75*17.9=1342.5ppm CaCO3.

H.

Hello, any ideas as to why my lettuce is not crispy? It looks good, has nice color and is growing really fast. It’s just not crunchy. I have butter crunch, romaine, red sails and bib all with the same prob. Thanks in advance for any lettuce input, Jon

I have heard that commercial growers will sometimes increase salinity to alter the osmotic pressure and increase the amount of water held within the leaves, thus making them crunchier. I think Bluewindfisher told me so you could PM him and find out what he knows.

I'm no expert but here's what I do know.

1. Old lettuce will get soggy and bitter. Try to harvest before it gets too mature.

2. Make sure you are supplementing with trace elements especially chelated iron.

3. Right when you harvest try dunking the lettuce in ice water for a few minutes. This helps with the crispy.

Definitely, dunking/soaking fresh harvested lettuce in cold or even ice water for a bit before spinning it and eating it will help with the crispness.

Growing lettuce in Florida can be a challenge since it's too hot here most of the year.

Hmmm .. go the dunk first eat young leaves, picked when you eat
Lots more nutritional value

+1 that seems rather salty
we used to keep aquariums GH = 20 ish, KH = 10 ish

where do you get your water?
do you add salts?
what's your GB media?

Yep, what have you been adding... epsom salts???

KP,

I think you'll find that Jerrygar hasn't responded since he posted those figures back in mid October, so I guess we won't ever know what was wrong with his plants.

Himzo.

Oh baugger it. Thanks Himzol, I missed the date... too many posts these days to read them all...
Sot Stucco re-enlivened the thread... I should pay more attention.

regarding non crispy leaves:
Did you plant seedlings or seeds?
Did you make sure you planted the seedling way below the waterline?
I've never had any problems with lettuce, it's one of my 'easy no care plants'

Hey guys, sorry if this was a hijack. I just found the closest lettuce thread and jumped in. after reading the posts I guess I’m leaning toward needing more trace elements. I dose with maxicrop with iron but I don’t have a local source for chelated iron. Except one for palm trees that has magnesium, copper and other things I’m not sure if that is safe? I have dosed with salt but on the low end. I’m confused as to how much and how often. Do the plants take up the minerals but the sodium/salt stays in the water? I need to pick up a hydrometer to see where I’m at on that. Thanks again, JON

Also, some types of lettuce doesn't really get crispy. I notice one variety in one of your pictures that isn't likely to be a really crispy one. The ribs of the romane is likely to be the best bet for crispy in our climate I think. I like salad bowl and many of the other varieties but they tend to be rather soft lettuces. If you like a good crunch to your salad, you might think about planting some Purslane next spring. It likes the summer and is supposed to be very good for you as well as having a nice crunch. Unfortunately, i think it is getting a little cool for that this season here. Lets see, Tatsoi or tasoi or spoon mustard is a good green with a bit more crispness that does fine in cool weather as well as sticking it out into warmer weather as well. The stems are a bit crisper. You might also try some kale to go with the softer lettuces to help firm up your salads. Even broccoli or kohlrabi leaves added to the salad can give some more firmness to the greens.

Good luck and I expect the maxicrop with Iron is probably a good choice to take care of all your supplementation needs. Plants will use up salt but fairly slowly so you don't want to use too much too often. Being able to measure would be a good thing since to much salt can make some plants struggle and certain types of fish only like salt up to a point.