Well, I decided to try some mescalin (sp?)..looks to be a mix of salad type plants.I'll just have to see how they grow.

Fall is the best time to start lettuce. Most of my plants are going to seed now. I live in Baton Rouge.

Mescalin will do ok in the spring here. Fall is better for most lettuce types. Some Romaine varieties will grow here. Iceberg likes a dry climate. I have had good luck with red leaf, green leaf, oak leaf, butter crunch and Romaine.

Hi, I'm in Slidell and am trying to grow Jericho, red oak leaf, mizuna and da cheong chae. The first two are lettuces that I read are heat tolerant. The latter are asian veggies that can be used in salads or cooked. I initially made seed tapes and planted 3 or so weeks ago. Only one mizuna came up so yesterday I replanted seeds in the expandable jiffy pots and have some sprouting already. I do have salad bowl lettuce growing quite well having already harvested enuf for two salads. Will keep you posted.

Well, I harvested enough the other night to make a large salad. The green leaf lettuce of the mescalin mix has grown far faster than the other types. I also started some romaine but it is lagging far behind. I'm happy I have some leafy greens.

I have noticed that weed control is a real pain around this type of veggie. It is sometimes hard to distinguish between the weeds and the young lettuce.

pjames, how is the mescalin mix doing in the heat? Do you have it in partial shade? We have not had the true heat of summer here yet but I know it's coming. This morning I have all but 8 of 25 seeds sprouting. Hopefully they will transplant well. I am going to plant carrot seeds today.

I have them in full sun, in the same bed as my green beans.

I use 4.5 ft wide, 28 ft long beds with wood as borders. I have about 2 feet of lawn between each bed. I do this so i don't have to walk on garden itself. I got the wood (2 X 12 planks) as scrap this spring when a tree fell across my father's roof. I didn't want to waste any wood so I calculated the maximum length garden beds I could make. I added to beds I already had been using. Empty I could easily reach the center of the beds from the side.

I didn't count on the difficulty of reaching between rows of green beans to weed around something like carrots. The mescalin and romaine is at the end of the same bed but easier to reach.

Lemons out of lemonade on the wood, good deal. I think 4 feet is the common width of beds if they are accessible from both sides so the square foot gardening book says. Next planting I guess you could leave .5 feet center unplanted, dunno! Do you use grass clipping for mulch in the garden? It would help with the weeding and keep moisture in the ground. I think it give nitrogen too as it decomposes.

Crayphish, I'm surprised you're getting lettuce to grow this time of year. Definitely too late to be planting carrots. Wait till fall.

Natal, I'm pleased with salad bowl so far. I hope to be with Jericho and the red oak leaf also. Too late on the carrots and onions.....I'm a hard head!! I am curious to see what does happen since they are planted late. The onions will only give greens no matter since I foolishly bought long day onions. Greens will be good tho, if they grow.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salad bowl lettuce

Crayphish, good idea on using grass clippings under the lettuce types. I use alot of compost as side-dress and mulch for peppers, tomatoes and other transplanted veggies, but my direct sow stuff is in bare ground (the compost was tilled in). Personally I like the mescalin,but my wife doesn't care for it's slightly bitter taste. It reminds me of spinach.

I'm a hardhead too. I have some leaf lettuce growing under, well, next to my tomatoes. I also planted more carrots. I have some space in another bed that I hadn't planted and want something green in there. Alot of my basil didn't do as well.I only transplanted 4 plants so I have started more seeds in cups.

Pjames, good morning! Well the rain pummeled my carrot and onion seed planting. I think I'll start those in jiffy pots to give them a better start. We enjoy mescalin but I didn't think it would work in the heat. Will plant it next year tho! I like basil in salad but for some reason I cannot grow that herb well. I plant some every year but it never really booms in for me. Instead, it becomes straggly...still usable but not too pretty!

Crayphish, try the mesclun and carrots in the fall. I seed a variety of lettuce and arugula starting the middle of September.

There's a good planting guide from the LSU Ag Center that might help you be a little more successful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Louisiana Vegetable Planting (click on the PDF file)

Natal, that is a fantastic little guide. Thanks for sharing it! I'm passing it on!

It's too hot to grow lettuce, but New Zealand Spinach, Arugula, Salad Burnet, Mustard Greens and Swiss Chard do well in the heat. Lettuce is a Fall and Winter plant here. They need the chilling to taste sweet and to keep from bolting.

Brhgm, is New Zealand the same as Malabar? I grew that one summer. I've never had luck with arugula this time of year. It bolts almost as fast as it germinates. And my salad burnet does the same. I am surprised that the chard is still doing so well. In years past I always pulled the plants to make room for tomatoes. This year with the new garden I had more room, so it stayed and it continues to produce.