"Perhaps it's a different variety than we used to have before; why aren't they forming any heads?" The hubby wondered about the lettuce (romaine) we have in the grow boxes outside.
They should be ready for harvest by now—25 to 30 days after being transferred into their grow box. We transferred ours on August 16th, which means they are over a month old. But while the leaves are getting thicker and more mature, they aren't showing any sign of forming elongated upright heads.
At the start of September, we moved them to a more open area where they can receive natural morning sunlight, but maybe it was a little too late. The month-long gray skies and August monsoon may have affected their growth, and maybe because we used compost instead of coco coir.😁 At least those were the ones I could think of anyway.
From my reading, I learned these plants need at least 6-8 hours of full sunlight daily, yet they didn't have that. 3-4 hours could do, but growth is much slower, and heads are smaller. Okay, that at least explains it.
But we will harvest them soon (with or without heads) and try another set. There are some more seedlings on the tray.
It's actually pretty interesting and exciting, especially since this is our first time trying this passive (non-electric) method of growing greens in water. We have much to learn, obviously, but we are up for it because we want a sustainable supply of healthy and organically grown veggies for our daily needs.
We will grow other plants after this. We have quite a few more seeds available—water spinach, green ice, etcetera. We are seriously considering setting up a small greenhouse and adding tuna boxes to grow several more things. It's just that with the current situation at the entrance, it's still pretty challenging to transport materials, especially the framing pipes and other bulky stuff.
So for now, we have to make do with what we already have around here and learn through experiments (and experiences).
All photos are my own unless specified. 19092026/09:37ph