megany
Full Member
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 5:32 pm
Location: Maryland (Zone 7a)

A storm rearranged my garden

So, a few days after I planted, we had two huge storms. And that's when we realized we had a serious backyard drainage problem.

There wasn't anything I could really do, except install a drainage system for next time, wait it out and see whether or not things sprouted.

And they did! But not where I planted them.

Which leads me to two questions:

1) I think this lettuce is too close together? It looks like this all throughout the bed. Big gaps, and then bunches. I can just sow more, but I'm so excited to have things growing, I hate to pull some of it if I don't absolutely need to?

[img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cancercrusader/IMAG0103.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cancercrusader/IMAG0102.jpg[/img]

2) Since things aren't in nice neat rows, and I'm a noob, I can't tell what is a weed and what is potentially spinach, a carrot, or a radish. :oops: I know some of this stuff, maybe all?, must be weeds -- and I want to weed. But I don't want to pull up my plants. Help?

[img]https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/cancercrusader/IMAG0113.jpg[/img]

Thank you so much!

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Francis Barnswallow
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Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 7:28 pm
Location: Orlando

My wife one day threw in handfuls of lettuce seeds in the garden. Spacing is not a problem in my situation b/c there are around 50+ lettuce plants growing nicely in a 3 X 3 ft. area.

8)

cynthia_h
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Location: El Cerrito, CA

I often let weeds "identify themselves" by letting them grow out until I can tell what they are.

Now that I'm familiar with what the "weedlings" look like--or, at least, most of them--in my area, I can pull them at an earlier stage.

But I almost always need a week or so to identify them, esp. when I've planted seeds: most dicots look the same! :)

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

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jal_ut
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Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Let the lettuce grow. When it gets big enough to touch each other, thin it and eat what you take out.

DeborahL
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Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2010 11:40 pm
Location: Coastal Southern California

I agree with James. But then I always do ! :lol:

megany
Full Member
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 5:32 pm
Location: Maryland (Zone 7a)

Thanks everyone! I'm really happy to hear I can keep the lettuce.

And I guess I'll just have to wait on the weeds. Though I'm still not sure if I'll be able to identify them when they get bigger either. Let's hope!

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applestar
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

At this point, only one I can positively ID as weed is the one with triple heart shaped leaves -- that's wood sorrel... Most likely the yellow-flowered one. If it's in the veg garden, It's an edible weed with sour lemony flavor. good in salad or in tea. I believe you need to watch out if you have a kidney condition because of the oxalic acid.

Spinach grows a pair of long leathery seed leaves, and radish would have a pair of heart shaped seed leaves, and carrot would have a pair of wispy narrow seed leaves. Radish should come up first.

As for lettuce, you can push a hand trowel straight down about 1 inch away from the lettuce seedling to dig it up (go deep enough to scoop up all the roots, then plant it in the empty spots. If the soil is dry, it helps to pour water in the planting hole first.



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