Replacing lettuce

[kailaeve1271]

Correct me if I’m wrong but from what I’m reading it would be a good replacement. I’d have to introduce my guinea pigs to it just to make sure but I think it would work. Plus any that I harvest early that start to go bad I could always bake into treats :) thank you! Did you just plant them in gardens nearby trees for shade or was their another tactic?

[LittleSqueakers]

My mom's kind of the horticulturalist in my family. But as I remember, she planted them in a small garden plot right against the treeline to the woods. They were shaded from the morning sun by the woods behind them, got a little more sun in the afternoon hours, and then were kind of shaded during the hottest part of the day by some more trees opposite. I think we had a small dogwood or two growing on either side of the garden box too that probably gave them a little shelter.

Something important I should mention though: the little gem variety of lettuce didn't ever grow very big. It won't be a typical lettuce-head type crop that you wait until it's fully-grown and then harvest it. It's more like a little lettuce that we would harvest a few leaves from each one and they would steadily put out more. Kind of like a spring-mix type of young lettuce. It should provide a fairly consistent supply if you do it this way, but depending on how many pigs you're trying to feed, you may need to plant quite a few of them.

[Lynx]

Greens are supposed to be super good for humans, too! I have started buying bags of inexpensive spinach from Kroger (10 oz for $1.59) and munching on it or laying it down in a bowl and putting other salad type things on it. Though spinach is higher in calcium and not appropriate for some guinea pigs, it is fine for us.

We need a gardening sticky thread with pictures!

[kailaeve1271]

Okay! I'm now off in search of a nice shaded spot for my lettuce. Thank you!

Lynx, that would be a brilliant idea! I personally love lettuce, and bok choy. Bok choy, kale and spinach are generally easy leafy greens to grow right now, if you'd like to try gardening yourself. I love gardening. If I'm not with my pets or doing something for my pets, I'm usually tending to my plants outside! It's definitely a passion that should be spread to others and it would be nice, if there was an area on here to get each others opinions and advice on that as well

[Lynx]

I have a neighbor who used to run an organic gardening business. Since she got a part time job, I think this is no longer her focus but she still teaches about organic gardening. I got couple hoops from her and some plastic suitable for starting early plants. I have to set up an enriched area for this though. She used shade cloth to extend the growing time for greens and to keep bitty bugs off.

[kailaeve1271]

We have a large fenced in raised garden beds by my house. Just make sure if you do a raised be it have a little bit of area for drainage or a heavy grain can kill your plants. I’ll definitely have to try to get some shade cloth. Deer jump the fence and eat some of it. I think that man help stop them and the bugs

[MariusMum]

I'm growing veggies for my pig too. What kind of lettuce is 2.50 a head?!