I was going to hold out for the master gardener kit and do some custom stuff but my trip to US is delayed by 1 week till weekend of Apr 17/18.
I could not wait so while showing my Mom how to do a water change for her SS6 herb kit which had a fair bit of residue after 2+ months, I started my SS6 in her living room on Tuesday to give her a bit more lights for her seedlings..
She had lots of tomato seedlings and promised to share them so I went with a mostly salad bar set up in my AG, leaving tomatoes for outdoor or container since I am not sure even the cherry tomatoes will do that well with 3 pods in a SS6.
I planted:
3 salad green pods from salad green kit
1 pod of Musculun using a recycled mint pod (but not sure if I got out all mint seeds since I could not really find them)
1 pod of arugula from her failed Chive pod (I put about 6 seeds in)
1 pod doing seed starter for her coreopsis using Kleenex and very quickly replaced by rockwool same afternoon. I will take them out at about 6 weeks...
I am using the lettuce seed kit nutrients...
By anonymous
Mary's SS6 Salad Grow Log
Submitted on Fri, 2009/04/10 - 2:47pm
Last updated on Mon, 2009/05/25 - 4:06am
The musculun and arugula is from a seed diversity / seed savoiur program
http://usc-canada.org/what-you-can-do/seed-saviour/#Anchor1
http://usc-canada.org/what-you-can-do/seed-saviour/#Anchor1
Weekly photos in summary:
At 1 week, 1 pod of Grand Rapid Lettuce in rockwool replaced the coreopsis in the SS6 but it is not doing well compared with the others at sam age.
The Grand Rapid Lettuce had been replaced again but neither grew very well.
Fri, 2009/04/10 - 3:11pm
#1
2 Days after planting...
All 5 of the salad type pods in my SS6 have germinated and 4 are peaking over the label. Only exception is the one I did the surgery on since the seeds dropped a little to low to be that visible.
BTW, the rockwood I purchased seem to break apart a bit when I try to put a depression in it so have laid the coreopsis seeds on top of the rockwool and had a small piece of moist rockwool covering it. Any experience here on what would be the best approach?
Sat, 2009/04/11 - 2:33am
#2
Day 3 My SS6 with 3 Salad Green pods on the right half, plus musculun and arugula on recycled peat pod center left and rear left all have sprouts while Coreopsis on rockwool on left is taking its time...
Sun, 2009/04/12 - 11:27am
#3
Day 4
Day 5
I had to do a minor surgury assist and opened up the pod that I slit up the side which had seeds that dropped pretty far down. A couple of the germinated seeds were buried with leaf down in the pods and not doing well so I moved them up a bit so that leaves peaked out.
Each salad green pod has 7-9 sprouts and my custom Musculun and arugula has 6 each. I think each pod can only support 3-4 plants realistically since my Mom's salad green pod had 4 originally but one (the smallest) died recently at about 2.5 months when the stem and root became too large. I might need to pull some as baby greens at about 2-3 weeks.
BTW, my Mom mentioned that she planted Delphenium, Coreopsis, salsify and swiss chard outside yesterday. She is thinking about planting lettuce, spinach and new Columbine (her 3rd columbine color since she already had a yellow / red and a mauve that is 4-5 years old) and she had to pull a lot of baby columbine plants yesterday since they are taking over.
Thu, 2009/04/16 - 10:49am
#4
Day 7 - Apr 14
Some pictures of the salad green, arugula, musculun (w/ungerminated coreopsis seed on rockwool) in SS6
Basil and oregano cuttings that I took from my Mom's SS6 herb garden 
The yellow / red cherry tomato seedlings which I half killed yesterday (5+ seedlings RIP) with a couple of friends that came to join them.
This evening also started grand rapids lettuce on rockwool in vitamin water bottle on tap water and Chadwick organic cherry tomatoes in AG with the lettuces, bumping out the coreopsis which bumped the wax gourd into a water bottle.
Sun, 2009/04/26 - 1:43pm
#5
Day 10 - Apr 17
The Grand Rapid lettuce bumped the as yet to germinate Coreopsis out of the AG.
Sun, 2009/04/26 - 2:14pm
#6
Day 14 - Apr 21
The Grand Rapid Lettuce is quite a bit behind the other at only a week younger. It looked smaller then the others did at 7 days. I was concerned about adding full strength growth nutrients would burn the tender lettuce seedlings so held off adding nutrients for a couple of days.
Can also see the Chadwick Cherry tomatoes in rockwool in the vitamin water bottle in front.
Sun, 2009/04/26 - 2:18pm
#7
Day 17 - Apr 24
Added 1 growth nutrient tablet on Day 16 and the 2nd one on Day 17 to give the Grand Rapid lettuce seedling in rockwool a bit more of a chance to catch up since they seem to be behind where the others were at 7 days.
Swapped the middle front salad green to the back since it was shading the others.
Sun, 2009/04/26 - 5:54pm
#8
Looks like you're on track to start eating at day 21. 
I love that about the salad greens kit.
Sun, 2009/04/26 - 6:07pm
#9
Yes, the Salad green pods are doing very well and the arugula and Musculun a little less so and the grand rapid lettuce is very far behind than the 1 week of physical time..
Sun, 2009/04/26 - 6:18pm
#10
The brassicas are really not as productive as the salad greens and romaines (and the romaines are at least a week slower than the looseleaf lettuce salad greens).
Usually AG's mesclun pods have some of the looseleaf lettuces in them. I like that kit. Except for the arugula. My household is unanimous - don't like arugula.
Sun, 2009/04/26 - 7:05pm
#11
The Arugula and Musculun are from seeds i got from a seed savior program. I figure one pod each is low commitment to try them out.
Fri, 2009/05/01 - 7:43pm
#12
Day 21 - Apr 28
The 3 salad greens are over running the others and are hitting the magic mark.
Here it is after the harvest
The Grand Rapid Lettuce in rockwool at 2 weeks are not doing well. The arugula is small but fine but the mesclun has some issue in being not deep enought into the pod.
Fri, 2009/05/01 - 9:01pm
#13
What's up with the Grand Rapids lettuce, Mary? (I'm not sure which one it is, and these pictures are very small.)
Fri, 2009/05/01 - 10:03pm
#14
Gisette,
This is the Grand Rapid Lettuce at 2 weeks (it went in on Apr 14) and it did not get much larger today at 17 days so I pulld it. The seeds may not be that viable since I bought did not buy it from the garden centers but from a grocery store and it is a brand I had never purchased before. Looking more closely at it, it did not a packaged date that the more well known seed companies had.
To make sure it is not due to my misuse of rockwool, I have started another pod of it on day 21 on a recycled peat pod.
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:07am
#15
Yes, it doesn't look like it was getting anywhere.
But - I wouldn't worry about brand name or sell-by date. The seeds were clearly good. On the downside, it's hard to start lettuce seeds in a garden that's already underway.
Recycled peat pod?
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:19am
#16
since I don't have my master gardener kits yet, I tried reseeding the peat pod from the bolted 3 month salad green after cleaning the root out a bit. If not, I will try something when the master gardener kits comes back with me this weekend.
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:27am
#17
Does anyone know which salad green is in the picture? The one that is hanging down past th grow deck. There are 2 of them in addition to arugula and something else.
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:40am
#18
Doesn't look like anything from the AG salad greens kit, so I guess you're asking about a pod growing your own seed mix? Looks a little like mizuna, but probably isn't. Is it a brassica? (Lettuces have narrow oval seed leaves. Brassicas have two-lobed seed leaves, like a shamrock.)
Wasn't it the goal of the outfit where you got those seeds, to disseminate rare seeds?
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:44am
#19
It is my Mesclun mix and not sure yet exactly what it is.
http://usc-canada.org/what-you-can-do/seed-saviour/mesclun-mix/
Mesclun salad mix - a mixture of colourful Lettuces, Arugula, Red Giant, Lacinato Kale, and Shungiku –
I have checked into it a little but have not identified it yet. Of the 6 seeds I planted, 2 arugula but not sure of the others yet.
Yes, USC is try to spread the gene pool and promote rare seeds. I guess I can always contact two wing farm, the seed supplier..
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:50am
#20
Going through the catelog, the closest is Mizuna but harder to tell for sure since mine is still young leaf. I think it was brassica but I was not paying attention to each of the seed in the mesclun pod.
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:51am
#21
Seed leaves not there anymore?
Sat, 2009/05/02 - 12:56am
#22
Nope. Some dried up and some I pinched off. They did not go deep enough since I surface sowed it. The stem below the leaves are red.
Wed, 2009/05/06 - 10:41pm
#23
Day 28 - May 5
After the 2nd harvest of Salad Green for a side dinner salad on Monday, they grow enough to harvest some for sandwiches Wednesday but this is how they looked on Tuesday in between at 4 weeks. The Arugula is almost ready for harvest and my Mom had a taste and she really liked it so planted some in her garden.
Sat, 2009/05/23 - 3:38am
#24
Missed week 5 photos since I was away for the conference.
This is week 6 photo on May 19 after not being harvested for a week.
Sat, 2009/05/23 - 10:00am
#25
Looks productive, Mary!
Sun, 2009/05/24 - 1:22pm
#26
The hanging pointed leaves from the mesclun mix seems more like picture of russian kale than Mizuna. Does anyone have any feedback opinion? Also what is the oblong leaf with slightly serrated edge at the left bottom corner of the SS6?
Mon, 2009/05/25 - 4:17am
#27
Have been a little busy to go and do the harvest this past week. Made a salmon and red pepper quiche for my parents for dinner and did the harvest this Sunday so we had quiche and salad with the greens, grape tomatoes, cukes, red pepper and cherries.
Day 47 - May 24
The late started Grand Rapid Lettuce was overshadowed and not enough roots to survive the crowding and its thirsty / hungry companions so it passed.
Mon, 2009/05/25 - 4:01am
#28
I got photos into Picasa and will try to link. If not photo album is at http://picasaweb.google.com/maryhuanggd/SS62SaladGreen?feat=directlink
Edit: gisette edited out the embed table code - can't do that here
Mon, 2009/05/25 - 4:02am
#29
P.S. Judith, the attachment with the Mesclun is still on the list at the top..
Mon, 2009/05/25 - 10:04am
#30
I LOVE the pictures! Thanks for the link. Check this out -- You should be able to identify your greens with this.
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/visualguidesaladgreens
(to get a picture in here, --- click reply, (you have to be in the editor) look to your left and you should now see Picasa Lightboxer, enter the user name you use in Picasa, click the right arrow to the right of 'most recent', then click the picture you want inserted here. That's it -- the picture will magically appear, and we'll be able to click on it to get to the larger version)
Isn't this fun??
Enjoy!
