Vegetables: starting lettuces in pots

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iguana265 Tallahassee, FL September 08, 2009 09:40 AM	I'm trying to start my lettuces for this fall in pots in the house (I'm in North Florida and it's still quite hot out). I'm keeping them in a sunny window for light. They start out nicely with little shoots with leaves at the ends. But then they seem to get quite long and fall over and kind of drown in the water I put in them and then they shrivel and die. So my question is, should I be repotting them and covering most of that original shoot with soil? I read in a gardening book that when you transplant plants, you should put the first two leaves that always come out first under the soil, but I'm not sure if that applies to lettuce. Thanks for any pointers.
tucsonjill Tucson, AZ (Zone 9a) September 08, 2009 07:09 PM	I'm not an expert, but my guess is that if you're getting long, spindly plants that they're not getting enough sun. And if they're drowning, you might want to try watering from underneath rather than at the soil level, so that they're not getting flooded. I wouldn't transplant lettuce deeper than level with the original surface; I don't think it will form roots along the buried stem (like tomatoes will), and I think it would just make for an unhappy seedling. Hopefully someone will come along who knows more than I do!
BocaBob Boca Raton, FL (Zone 10a) September 08, 2009 07:44 PM	I start my lettuce inside and when the seeds sprout, they are placed under a flourscent light fixture within one inch of the bulbs. The little plants grow very stocky until I transplant them outside. Down here in south Florida, they don't go outside until October. Then I grow nonstop till April/ may. View Larger
BocaBob Boca Raton, FL (Zone 10a) September 08, 2009 07:46 PM	Here is another pic, romaine lettuce View Larger
tucsonjill Tucson, AZ (Zone 9a) September 08, 2009 07:53 PM	Beautiful! Nothing as lush as baby lettuces. :)
BocaBob Boca Raton, FL (Zone 10a) September 14, 2009 05:47 PM	Here is a pic from today (inside under T5 Fluorescents) View Larger
Gymgirl SE Houston (Hobby), TX (Zone 9a) October 07, 2009 05:29 PM	Hey Bob! Those are nice. Are they in 4"-6" pots?
BocaBob Boca Raton, FL (Zone 10a) October 07, 2009 05:41 PM	They are in 4", but 6" is better.
Gymgirl SE Houston (Hobby), TX (Zone 9a) October 08, 2009 11:22 AM	Bob, Do I still have time to sow some lettuce seeds inside? It's still pretty hot outside. Today we're at 93 with a 105 heat index. But, a cool snap is expected this weekend. I can put lettuce outside in a stagger planting up until December 1st. Or, should I just go ahead and sow them outside? I do have a problem with snails and roly poly bugs that like to munch on green leaves. I bought some Sluggo Plus to try to deter them this upcoming season. So far, they've not attacked my tomato plants. LMK soonest. Linda
BocaBob Boca Raton, FL (Zone 10a) October 08, 2009 01:32 PM	I prefer to start mine inside anytime. I keep them within a inch of the florescent light and they get real stocky before I set them outside. So I say the answer is yes.
Gymgirl SE Houston (Hobby), TX (Zone 9a) October 08, 2009 01:40 PM	Thanks, Bob!
stephanietx Fort Worth, TX (Zone 8a) October 18, 2009 09:10 PM	Linda, I started mine outside in the middle of September. I started them in tiny seed starter trays and put them in total shade, but where there was plenty of sunshine. Almost all of them survived and are now in the ground. Here are some of them this afternoon, before DH weeded. View Larger
tucsonjill Tucson, AZ (Zone 9a) October 18, 2009 10:05 PM	Stephanie, I'm a little confused. You say you put your seed starter trays in total shade where there was plenty of sunshine? Can you please explain? And forgive me if it's obvious to anyone who's not tuckered out from a day of hard gardening? :)
stephanietx Fort Worth, TX (Zone 8a) October 19, 2009 07:28 AM	I set them under the tomato plants where they got morning shade from a huge oak tree and afternoon shade from the tomato plants. I think it's called "bright shade". Not total darkness, but not direct sunlight either. View Larger
tucsonjill Tucson, AZ (Zone 9a) October 19, 2009 09:47 AM	Gotcha--thanks!

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