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Lettuce begin ...

Owen Pidgeon

There are some lettuce varieties that can survive the hot summer.
There are some lettuce varieties that can survive the hot summer.Jessica Shapiro

A question: what do you do when a good friend offers you 60 lettuce seedlings to plant on a summer's day when the temperature is well over 30 degrees. As with any good friendship you would accept graciously, but if you have lost lettuces to the heatwaves you will be thinking very carefully about how to keep them alive and growing well.

Lettuces are historically a cool-season vegetable but there are some varieties that can manage in the hottest parts of summer - mostly open leaf and frilly types. The aim is a regular supply throughout the salad months, so it is good planning to sow and plant out a small selection every two weeks, rather than just one big crop. But lettuces can sometimes be hard to get started: seeds planted even in trays when the temperature is too cold or too hot will just not germinate.

If you can get them established and keep the water to them, they will produce a harvest within weeks. The loose-leaf lettuces can be harvested from the outside, so you can have salads every night. Oakleaf, Darwin and mignonette are pretty hardy.

We have been going through this process over this long hot summer. My wife, Noreen, grew 25 frilly lettuce seedlings and planted them out among the herbs near the kitchen door, thinking they would be safe from rabbits, hares, kangaroos and other nocturnal visitors. But she did not count on the severity of those heatwave days in January. Even though each plant was covered during the day with empty flower pots, losses were still high.

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So when we took delivery of the latest gift, we went further with heat protection, covering the whole area with shadecloth as well. The garden bed needs to be well prepared and enriched with plenty of compost and organic fertilisers. Salad vegetables need good drainage too.

Very regular watering is vital. You should aim to grow all salad vegetables quickly. Too little water with small seedlings and they will die within a day. Lack of water on established plants will make them bolt and go to seed. Also keep the weeds down and mulch well around the garden bed.

To broaden your growing practices, try adding rocket, endive and the Japanese mizuna and mibuna. They all need fertile garden beds. Rocket does not do well in the hottest period of the year and should be protected from the afternoon sun. And remember, regular deep watering is the best way to keep good production going and to minimise bolting.

This week

■ As well as salads, sow silverbeet, spinach and beetroot. Plant out two or three rows of little finger carrots, with the aim of a mid-autumn crop.

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■ Sow coriander seeds into a planter box so you will have a good supply of leaves during the early winter months.

■ With the continuing hot weather, you can still plant out winter brassica seedlings to get them well established before the cold nights arrive. Also plant kale for a winter harvest. Water them in well, when planting.

■ Keep the water up to your pumpkins and also your potatoes, to ensure a good harvest.

■ Pick off your nearly ripe, early maturing pears by carefully twisting the stems upwards, some 10-12 days before they are completely ripe. The flesh will be firm, the skin colour is lightening up and the seeds are becoming dark brown.

>>Owen Pidgeon owns the Loriendale Organic Orchard near Hall.

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