Leafy Greens / Lettuce
Two dozen or more types of leafy greens are grown in New York, primarily for fresh market production.
According to the 2007 Census of
Agriculture, 224 New York farms produced 1,398 acres of lettuce. Leaf
lettuce is the most widely grown with 758 acres, followed by 381 acres
of head lettuce and 260 acres of romaine lettuce. Lettuce is grown for
local sales as well as large wholesale markets in the Northeastern, US.
Other
popular greens are spinach (247 acres), collards (96 acres), escarole
& endive (75 acres), kale (57 acres), mustard greens (36 acres) and
turnip greens (16 acres). Additional types for which no statistical
information is available include: arugula, beet greens, bok choy,
dandelion greens, radiccho, rapini, swiss chard and watercress.
Field-grown
greens are available beginning from May through mid-October (depending
on the type). However, the season can be extended by growing in tunnels
protected from harsh winter temperatures.
Contact
Jarmila Haseler
Agriculture and Food System Educator
jh954@cornell.edu
(585) 753-2565
Last updated July 26, 2019
Why is my Lettuce Bolting?
Have you heard about bolting vegetables? This might seem like an odd
term as plants usually don't run away! Bolting is the survival mechanism in
plants. If the temperature gets above where the plant will not survive, the plant will try to produce the next generation (seed) as quickly as possible, completely abandoning
the leaf production.
Lettuce, liking temperatures around 60 F to 65 F, is prone to bolting at temperatures above that level. Bolted lettuce is bitter tasting, spoiling the harvest and causing financial loss to the farmers. Prevention for lettuce bolting can be done by planting it in the early spring or late summer so it grows during early fall.
A special research has been focused on development of heat tolerant and bolt resistant varieties at Cornell University along with Monroe County farmers through the field trials.