Hi everyone! I’m still pretty new to gardening and had a few questions I was hoping someone could help with.
Lettuce: Slides 1 & 2
I planted a “garden salad mix,” but I’ve never grown lettuce before. How do you know when it’s ready to harvest? Do you pull the whole plant out, or just harvest the outer leaves so it keeps growing? Also, the seed packet only says partial shade (3–6 hours) and doesn’t mention watering — how often should lettuce usually be watered?
Pepper plants: Slides 3-6
I was gifted two pepper plants — a mini Gypsy bell and a lunchbox orange pepper. They need to be moved into bigger pots (I already have large ones ready), but the roots are huge and I’m nervous about transplanting them. Last year when I transplanted peppers they started dying a few days later. Any tips for transplanting without shocking them?
Russet potatoes: Slide 7
I was told to keep adding soil as the plant grows (covering more of the stem) until the container is full. Then once the leaves turn brown, they’re ready to harvest. Is that the correct way to do it?
Any advice is much appreciated! I’m gardening in Zone 9A (Southeast Texas) if that helps.
Also my strawberries are a bit mushy when they look ripe, why is this?
by Jaypee92xx
4 Comments
if soil surface is dry more than 1 inch down water. It looks like some pics are very dry and others very wet. look up a garden channel on you tube for your area for basics like when to not grow certain things as it varies from region to region.
Lettuce: Harvest the outer leaves as needed. The plant grows new leaves from the center, and you should let those grow out for future harvests. Take up to 1/2 of the outer leaves per harvest and then let it regrow. Lettuce is a fairly thirsty plant and should be watered every 2-3 days if the soil is dry.
Peppers: Transplant into bigger containers while minimizing root disturbance. Apply an organic, soluble fertilizer, like Alaska Fish Fertilizer, to help ward off transplant shock with a dose of nutrients.
Potatoes: Russets are indeterminate potatoes that do benefit from hilling, but you don’t have enough volume in that pot to add soil beyond maybe once. After you hit the rim of the pot, just let the plant continue growing. Yes, you do want to let the greenery die off and get brown for ~2 weeks before you harvest; that additional time in the soil lets the tubers’ skin cure and tighten for better shelf life.
Edit: Strawberries are tricky and need good water and nutrients to ripen on schedule. What variety did you plant?
For the lettuce, you can do it both ways. I usually go the outer leaves route because I am just making salads and sandwiches for one person usually and they’ll keep producing for a little but but not indefinitely as they’ll bolt quicker when it gets warmer unless its a heat tolerant variety. I hope your gypsy pepper turns out to actually be a gypsy pepper. I tried planting the same thing last year and I have no idea what it is but it’s not a gypsy pepper.
> Last year when I transplanted peppers they started dying a few days later
Transplant during a cooler time of day like morning or sunset. Afternoon sun is harsh. Focus your watering on the actual root ball because the roots haven’t spread out yet. Common mistake to water around the whole pot and not concentrate on the small root bulb.
This video explains the common watering mistake around the 6:05 mark.
https://youtu.be/z9aoDQKdwh0?si=fekEQDP0vKtBXY0d