soggy(mouldy) lettuce

cooking-mama

im growing some "all year round lettuce",its looking good(on top!),it looks more just like big salad leaves just now and doesnt have a tight middle like a proper lettuce,im in no hurry so thought i would just leave them to continue growing,but yesterday i noticed the bottom leaves closest to the soil are all soggy and have what looks like white fluffy mould growing in between them...on the outside and top they look super healthy.Should i lift and use as salad leaves,or leave them to continue growing?any advice thanks

CharlieBilly

They probably to wet not surprising with all the rain we got lately

cooking-mama

Thanks CharlieBilly,you are probably correct,a couple of the middle lettuce are looking pretty squished too,im thinking they have taken a battering from the wind and rain.
wonder if putting a mulch sheet down either side of them would help?,or would that make things worse cos its kinda plasticy?

Kay_Peel

It's mildew.

You need to pick off the bottom leaves and let some air circulate around the base of the plant.

You need to pick the leaves regularly to stop the leaves getting old and to encourage top growth. If you leave them to do their own thing, they'll get tough, they'll compete for space or they'll go to seed.

The more you pick, the more fresh young leaves you'll get. When they stop producing strong new leaves it's time to pull them out and sow some new seed in their place. I just drop about three seeds into the space, cover them lightly, water them and wait for a couple of weeks.

Don't, whatever you do, put plastic down. It will reduce the flow of air and make the mildew far worse - as well as encouraging snails and slugs.

:beer:

Lotus-eater

Depending how big the lettuce is, you can use it and sow more. Even better, you should have lettuces now growing in modules ready to re plant when you have space. If you have, then give yourself a gold star, if you haven't, get some sown.
All lettuce get leaves that die off and some get moulds and things, you can take off the dodgy leaves, the plant won't notice and it will help to clean up the area.

cooking-mama

Brilliant thanks for the great advice guys,Lotus i never even thought of planting lettuce in module trays,but im kinda half organised,cos a good few weeks after sowing the original lettuce i sowed some little gems in a dofferent raised bed,(tho they havent taken too well),and then a few weeks after that i sowed my dig in salad leaves in a trough(i thought the birds had scoffed most of the seeds,but the seedlings are coming on a treat.

Lotus-eater

cooking-mama wrote: »

Brilliant thanks for the great advice guys,Lotus i never even thought of planting lettuce in module trays,but im kinda half organised,cos a good few weeks after sowing the original lettuce i sowed some little gems in a dofferent raised bed,(tho they havent taken too well),and then a few weeks after that i sowed my dig in salad leaves in a trough(i thought the birds had scoffed most of the seeds,but the seedlings are coming on a treat.

I've tried it every which way with lettuce and tbh this is probably the first year I've been really organised with it.
Without doubt modules are the best way of sorting it, every time you plant a lot of lettuce out, new compost in the trays and new lettuce seeds sown. That way you always keep a flow of lettuce coming and you can shove them wherever you have space.

The other way which I do it, is to sow a long row, thickly, then thin it down as they get bigger, use the thinnings, they can be quite large lettuce thinnings, then in the end you get fully grown lettuce left.

dorisday

If its raining heavy I cover my lettuce with tarpaulin that I got from Wickes, I got a one for £9.99 but its too big and had to cut it but they also have a smaller one £4.99 which may even be too big. But it works and the lettuce dont get too wet.