Hey fintuckyfarms -
So if I understand right, those plants in the picture were pretty early in their growing cycle? Compared to their size in the picture, how big would you say the plants were when you were harvesting them for salad?
I first harvested on 07/27/11, probably could have done so sooner, I just didn't know better. I think if I did regular harvesting they might have lasted longer; IDK. The plants grew up into the light so that was about 10" tall before they bolted. I always took from the bottom outside and only 40% of the growth.
It sounds like my assumptions in the previous post were close. Now I just have to figure out space for some radishes, carrots, and tomatoes and I can have some pretty decent salad production. It is kinda of the first goal I set for myself, to see if I can maintain consistant production.
Now you said you planted these in June and they lasted until the end of August. So it sounds like you got a couple of weeks production out of them before they "bolted". BTW - what do you mean by bolted? Obviously, I can understand that they die, but is it due to age, disease, seeding?
Bolting (from what I've read) is when the plant starts to grow really fast twds sending out
seeds. I think you can almost watch them grow. I think (don't quote me) it is mostly due to heat and age but in my case my plants were damaged from the first few days because they were too wet in the medium. Also my light got left on for several days in a row then they bolted right after that. They were use to roughly 12 on and 12 off before that.
My inside plants were pure experiment because I probably just should have throwen them out when they dampened (fell over), but they were growing well eventhough they were sideways and I just thought I would see what happened. I have seen and read where a small lettuce garden in a basement lasted all winter long and they started new seeds every 4 months or so to replace the plants that were at the end of their production.
GoodGilligan