- Joined
- Feb 5, 2019
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- 3,330
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- Location
- East Texas
- Hardiness Zone
- old zone 8b/new zone 9a
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I had completely given up on growing our own garden lettuce here in East Texas after several failed attempts to do so.... that has all changed since I started using the Hügelkultur containers.
I have had miserable results with lettuce in the past here. It's just too hot and humid and by the time it starts to cool down in the fall a frost is only days/weeks away. In spring, it gets too hot too quickly and lettuce simply bolts. So, I thought it was just a lost cause...until I came up with Hügelkultur containers.
In early August this year, I started seven different types of green leafy veggies from seed...each type planted both in a HK container and in the ground for comparison.
The lettuce types: 1) buttercrunch 2) sylyestra 3) green ice 4) little gem, 5) and romaine. In addition, I started Malabar spinach and Swiss chard from seed also both planted in HK and in ground.
The results have been stunning for me. The weather since seed start has been terrible for cool weather plants averaging above 95 deg highs and 75 deg. F lows....and those planted in the ground showed it with poor germination and very limited growth. However, the HK container plants have absolutely flourished. An Astounding result to me.
The HK lettuce plants have not only survived but they are outproducing the in-ground plants ranging from 5 times as much down to about 3 times as much. Consistently, each of the 5 lettuce varieties and the Malabar spinach and Swiss chard have completely outproduced the in ground to this point.
It will be interesting to see, now that cool weather is arriving, how the production continues.... but a shocking result thus far and one I did not expect, nor do I understand.
Buttercrunch and sylestra:
Green ice:
Little gem and romaine
If I hadn't done this experiment with HK containers, I would never have tried to grow lettuce again here...and would have missed out on this spectacular blessing. Lettuce grown in HK containers will be an integral part of my fall gardens in the future and I'll also give them a run next spring.
I have had miserable results with lettuce in the past here. It's just too hot and humid and by the time it starts to cool down in the fall a frost is only days/weeks away. In spring, it gets too hot too quickly and lettuce simply bolts. So, I thought it was just a lost cause...until I came up with Hügelkultur containers.
In early August this year, I started seven different types of green leafy veggies from seed...each type planted both in a HK container and in the ground for comparison.
The lettuce types: 1) buttercrunch 2) sylyestra 3) green ice 4) little gem, 5) and romaine. In addition, I started Malabar spinach and Swiss chard from seed also both planted in HK and in ground.
The results have been stunning for me. The weather since seed start has been terrible for cool weather plants averaging above 95 deg highs and 75 deg. F lows....and those planted in the ground showed it with poor germination and very limited growth. However, the HK container plants have absolutely flourished. An Astounding result to me.
The HK lettuce plants have not only survived but they are outproducing the in-ground plants ranging from 5 times as much down to about 3 times as much. Consistently, each of the 5 lettuce varieties and the Malabar spinach and Swiss chard have completely outproduced the in ground to this point.
It will be interesting to see, now that cool weather is arriving, how the production continues.... but a shocking result thus far and one I did not expect, nor do I understand.
Buttercrunch and sylestra:
Green ice:
Little gem and romaine
If I hadn't done this experiment with HK containers, I would never have tried to grow lettuce again here...and would have missed out on this spectacular blessing. Lettuce grown in HK containers will be an integral part of my fall gardens in the future and I'll also give them a run next spring.
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