Re: Forcing Lettuce in the Winter
Patrick,
What you're describing, lengthening of the stem, is in fact legginess. You
can bury it but be careful not to bury the "crown" or where the point where
the leaves start. Reducing the temperature will help any new seedlings that
will be germinating.
Normally, I use 1 cool bulb and 1 warm bulb to get a wider range of the
light spectrum. You might want to look into that. I also try to keep the
light no more than 4" away from the top of the seedlings.
Arzeena
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----- Original Message -----
From: Patrick Callahan <pac1@tiac.net>
To: <veggie-list@eskimo.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2000 10:25 AM
Subject: Re: Forcing Lettuce in the Winter
> Terra Viva Organics wrote:
>
> > Patrick,
> >
> > You may want to check the light levels and temperature. The legginess
may
> > be associated with not enough light and or temperatures that are a bit
too
> > high.
>
> The legginess is not too bad, if it could be called legginess at all
There's
> about 1-2 inch between the soil and the point where the leaves start. I
> covered this part of some of the earlier lettuce plants with soil. Should
I
> continue to do this, or just let them be.
>
> Temp is about 65-70, Light is from 2 cool white florescents 6" above the
> flat, through a plastic cover.
>
> I could reduce the temp by 5-10 degrees putting the flat on the floor.
near
> the door. This might also harden the plants a bit.
>
>
> -Pat
>
>
>
>
