Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm trying to find a different kind of lettuce that gets crispier than what I have so far. I have tried black seeded Simpson which grows really well in AP, but you have to pick it when it's cold and eat it immediately or there is no crispness to it. I have tried a red lettuce that I can't recall the name which seems similar but hasn't grown great in AP, now I have some iceberg and romaine started but they are a ways away from being edible. I am wondering if there is something else I should try or if I just need to be patient that the romaine and iceberg might be the answer?

Does anyone run different lettuce in summer vs. in colder parts of year due to loss of crispness in summer/better growth I'm colder times? Am I just doomed to soggy lettuce all summer long?

The iceberg and the romaine are probably your best bet. The romaine/cos lettuce is my favorites and holds up decently in the heat. There's a short period in the middle of summer when it gets to hot for lettuce here and this is a cooler maritime climate so I would expect your mid summer gap to be longer.

Another name for some of the iceberg like lettuces is Crisphead lettuce -
http://www.territorialseed.com/category/crisphead_lettuce_seed

Thanks Scotty, I started reading on some other seeds and found one website that says my black seeded simpson just won't hold up to heat, so it makes sense why it turned to mush. I think I might have to rip out all of my lettuce and get some other stuff started. I really need to start writing stuff down other than on here that way I can keep track of what to plant and when and how long it actually takes to grow in AP.

Interesting how some APs do well with one type of plant and others not at all. I've been in the not at all category with lettuce. I can't even get it started. It's sure be nice to have some with the baskets full of tomatoes we grow.

I don't have much luck starting lettuce from seed in my system either (I do better in Summer though). I usually start the plants in plug trays or six packs outside the AP and transplant once they big enough. Between damping off and all the critters that would do them in as seedlings in the AP it's a whole lot easier, plus I get to do the spacing without having to thin.

Brian, remind me what you have in your media beds... is it all hydroton? For starting lettuce I prefer my pea stone gravel bed. I just sprinkle the seeds into the gravel and they go crazy. I think it was Web4Deb who showed their seed starting wicking trays which I tried last year to start seeds in but I was using tap water because I didn't have good fish water to use yet, the combination of the fish water and the gravel beds make a great way to start seeds, especially lettuce. Then once they are sprouted a decent size pull them and put them in the DWC.

Maybe try just a small seed starting bed with some sort of small gravel (small tote of pea stone?) set to the side like your DWC that you can just put a small pump pumping water up to the bed and allow it to overflow back in to the tank or your sump?

I harvest in the early morning.

Next I have been rinsing at least 2x then cutting into salad sized bites.

I then moisten paper-towels and then place in a tupperware (plastic container or bag) and leave in the refrigerator. The cuttings last a while and are plenty crisp and will last more than a few days.

Good luck.

Since this is already about lettuce. Does anyone else cut it back during harvest then leave the roots and allow it to regrow? I have noticed a 2 week period and it catches back up. Or is it smarter to just replant to repeat?

Great ideas thanks guys. Rob, yeah I do have hydroton in the media beds. I have gotten seeds sprouted in soaked paper towels. That was too difficult to get the seedlings out of. I think Scotty is on to something as it did seem like after the seedlings were out of the germination stage something else got to them. I will try the pea gravel idea and overflow Rob. One of the issues I had was keeping the seedling moist.
I've got to do something with the Brussels Sprouts and cabbage I put in the DWC until I could find someplace else for them. Life and crisis get in the way all the time it seems. Plus I had no idea the DWC was going to flourish like it has. There is barely room to move around in the greenhouse. What to do? I'll smile and be thankful. I also have kept Lettuce crisp in Tupperware with a moist paper towel.

Eastcoasttrout - I tried cutting and letting it regrow a few times, they just rotted in my DWC instead so now I pull and replant.

Brian - my problem isn't really so much as keeping lettuce crisp as it is having crisp lettuce to begin with. My lettuce while it looks decent in the greenhouse is mush already when you pick it. It sounds like it is just the type (black seeded simpson) is NOT heat tolerant so it is wilting in the greenhouse and as soon as you remove the constant water supply it's a complete loss. Stuff that I was picking when it was in the 50's and 60's in the greenhouse was OK to put in a big plastic bag with wet paper towel in the fridge, but now that the greenhouse is pushing 80 every day and only dropping to about 70 at night the black seeded simpson is stressed and not working out.

I had a mesclun mix that I decided to completely pull two nights ago because I'm not happy with it... I only ate a little bit of it because I have so much of the BSS I'm trying to get through first, but the mesclun bolts really quickly and I got tired of pulling the blooms off to keep it going, so I just pulled the entire bed worth of mesclun and fed it to the chickens.