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Lettuce too hot,

rlewrlew Posts: 73
in Problem solving
I have some standard lettuce in a veg trug with a plastic lid on but all 4 vents are fully open, it gets about 4 hours of sun in the morning but the leaves always seem to be wilting in it, I give it a good watering in the morning. I know they are classed as cool weather crops but I thought I'd factored that in. 
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  • rlewrlew Posts: 73

  • ShepsSheps Posts: 2,236
    Not sure what you are growing, but they don't look like lettuce.


    These are lettuce seedlings




  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Take the lid off and keep it off. The poor things are sweltering in there. They don’t need protection at this time of year 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • rlewrlew Posts: 73
    Dovefromabove said:
    Take the lid off and keep it off. The poor things are sweltering in there. They don’t need protection at this time of year 
    I'm protecting them from the birds too. And squirrels. I'm growing Mizuna and Spicy Leaf mix
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2023
    I might be just lucky but I’ve never known squirrels eat my lettuces … and if the birds show an interest I put some  wire netting over them. 

    Yours are too hot,  and you’re creating the perfect environment for botrytis

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/grey-mould

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • rlewrlew Posts: 73
    Dovefromabove said:
    I might be just lucky but I’ve never known squirrels eat my lettuces … and if the birds show an interest I put some  wire netting over them. 

    Yours are too hot,  and you’re creating the perfect environment for botrytis

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/grey-mould
    Yeah, they've been known to have a go at a few peoples veg or even just to dig around in the soil. I'll try some netting with some canes.
  • EmerionEmerion Posts: 599
    Cover them with mesh or netting instead of an airtight lid, so that beasties can’t get in. I have my salad crops in a veg bed. It’s surrounded by a low fence of chicken wire, with cargo netting draped over the top. This keeps rabbits and pigeons out, and also serves as a useful shade over the crop. So far none of them have bolted, even after no rain and high temperatures for 6 weeks, and I didn’t water them. 
    Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.


  • rlewrlew Posts: 73
    Emerion said:
    Cover them with mesh or netting instead of an airtight lid, so that beasties can’t get in. I have my salad crops in a veg bed. It’s surrounded by a low fence of chicken wire, with cargo netting draped over the top. This keeps rabbits and pigeons out, and also serves as a useful shade over the crop. So far none of them have bolted, even after no rain and high temperatures for 6 weeks, and I didn’t water them. 
    I've out some garden netting over them with some small wooden  posts in the middle to make a V shape with the netting and clipped it to the trug. Had mixed success with Lettuce, germination should be somewhere cool or room temperature? I've had mine germinate in front bedroom where it's approx 18 degrees and under growlights. I don't know where the coolest place is in my house with adequate lighting.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    They really don’t need to be indoors to germinate at this time of year. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ShepsSheps Posts: 2,236
    Sorry for the confusion @rlew it was the wording that caught me out 🙂
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