Hi Im Erin and this is Our Wyoming Life
Erin is ready to place the lettuce seedlings out in the world. Tonight they will spend
their first night away from the comfort of the basement. First though before they are
totally up the mother’s nature mercy Erin will harden them to prepare the seedlings
for transplanting. We wish you well little lettuce and hope that you grow into delicious
tastiness!
Today is a big day for our lettuce seedlings! I always get really excited when plants that
I have nurtured from tiny seeds are ready for the big world. I’m also a little scared
that I’m going to screw up and kill them accidently. So to help them transition and
reduce the risk of dying accidently I will let them harden off for the next couple days
before disturbing them and transplanting them.
First we are going to gather all of our supplies. I need row cover, hoops, gallon jugs filled
with water and of course the lettuce. I’ve also got some radish and spinach seed that
I’m going to plant today. All winter long I save our empty milk gallons and juice containers
so that I have plenty for spring growing in the high tunnel. The way that I find easiest
to fill the jugs is to fill up the sink in the shop kitchen and then dunk the jugs in
the water. I am going to add a little bit of bleach today to the water. I always rinse
out the bottles when they are empty but sometimes they are still a little dirty and then they
will turn a nice shade of green after a few weeks in the tunnel. It’s not really a big
deal but it looks kinda gross. If you do add bleach to you bottles make sure you don’t
water your plants with the bleach water.
Everything is in the gator and we are ready to go. Mike is going to bring over the 125
gallon tank again so that I can have water.
Now that everything is in the tunnel I’m going to set up my hardening area. I want
the lettuce somewhat in the middle of the tunnel. It’s of course a little colder at
night up against the plastic so in the middle will work better. I’m just going to put
the trays right next to each other and then surround the trays with the water bottles.
The water will heat up during the day and then at night they release their heat slowly
as the temperature drops. I’m also going to use a double layer of frost protection
row cover to trap the heat from the ground.
That looks perfect. I think that this is going to work really well to help the lettuce adjust
to the temperatures in the high tunnel. I’ll leave the row cover off while we are working
so they can get some sun. I will want to make sure that I cover everything up at least an
hour before sunset. I will also uncover everything in the morning if the sun is shining. If it’s
cloudy and overcast I will leave the seedlings covered so that they can retain as much of
their ground temperature as possible.
2 or 3 days and I think that they will be ready to transplant!
Now I’m going to direct sow some spinach and radish seed. This will also be harvested
for our first farmers’ market on April 29th. I only have the one row to plant cold crops
in so I’m going to make sure that everything is measured and marked off correctly. This
will just make things easier when I get ready to plant the tomatoes and peppers.
Next step involves math. The lettuce needs to be spaced correctly so that it has plenty
of room to develop into full size mature heads. Spacing allows the plant to have adequate
room to absorb nutrients and water. Salanova lettuce should be planted 8 inches apart in
rows that are 12-18 inches apart. All this information can be found on the seed label.
Seriously take the time to read those labels. There is all the information you need on them!
Ok so more math. 210 heads of lettuce. 3 rows fit in my bed. Heads 8 inches apart and some
wiggle room and I need 48 feet for the lettuce. The remainder of the bed is what space I have
for spinach and radishes.
The soil is nice and damp from when I watered last week but I want the bed to be nice and
fluffy for planting. I have my trusty stirrup hoe with me and I’ll just run it over the
spinach and radish area before I plant. If you don’t have a stirrup hoe you should
seriously consider getting one. They are amazing and make the chore of hoeing so much easier
than a traditional hoe. It moves smoothly through the top 2 inches of soil loosening
it.
I have 2 packages of spinach seed. I’m not going to plant rows but instead sprinkle it
lightly into the bed. And then just a sprinkling of dirt over the top.
Radishes I will go ahead and plant into rows. More measuring and spacing. Radish rows need
to be 12 inches apart. I am going to use the hoe and make a shallow trench. Only about
½ an inch deep. Then I will just sprinkle the seeds into the rows. I try to not put
too many seeds in one spot. But I can thin the seedlings once they come up. Ideally you
would plant them 1 inch apart. Cover with dirt and I’m in the radish business! I expect
to see them up in just a few days. I’m going to go ahead and give everything
a light sprinkle of water. Definitely want to make sure your hose or sprinkler is on
a gentle setting and take care to not pound the seeds into the ground. Over the next few
days I will water as needed making sure the soil doesn’t dry out on the top. Making
sure the seed stays moist during germination is essential for success.
Last I am going to put in some hoops that I will lay the row cover over. Everything
will get covered at night and opened back up in the morning. The row cover just helps
to keep the soil warmer. Look in the description for more info on the products I used today
including the row cover. Clear plastic can go back over the remainder of the row that
we haven’t planted yet. I don’t want to lose all the heat that we’ve managed to
capture while we wait for transplanting.
Sometimes during the craziness of summer and when market season is in full swing I forget
why I do this. The short of it is that I get tired and I get stressed out. But when spring
comes again and I’ve had the winter to rest, just like the soil I am renewed and remember
why I love growing. It’s fun and dirty and a little bit magic. A little tiny seeds contains
everything that it needs to grow and create something tasty and delicious that my family
and other families will get to enjoy in just a couple of months. Growing your own food
and sharing that with others is truly an amazing experience that I hope I get to help you enjoy.
Thanks for joining me in Our Wyoming Life.