Grow some lettuce & review food safety information

Grow lettuce along with the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County Field Test committee. We have chosen lettuce to plant both as spring and fall crops. Lettuce prefers cool weather and is easy to grow, so involve your children. Affordable seed is readily available from nurseries and catalogs. We have chosen three romaine types to plant next spring. 

Flashy Trout's Back: This lettuce was first cultivated by the ancient Egyptians. It is a well-known, reliable romaine lettuce, green with splashy red flecks. Originally named “Forellenschluss”, which is German for “speckled like a trout's back”. It has a rich, buttery flavor.

Outredgeous: It's totally bright red with long, deep shiny-red leaves with green veins and ruffled edges. Heads are big, tall, and beautiful. It's especially good for early season.

Little Gem: Heads are about 4” across. This variety can be planted in a space six inches square to save space, and is always a favorite.

Washing lettuce from the garden always seems to be a wet and wild event for me because I don't want to encounter any slugs in my salad bowl. We all know food safety is important, besides avoiding live mollusks in our food.

The majority of fresh consumed fruits and vegetables in the United States are wholesome and free of the microorganisms that could result in illness under common and sensible handling and food preparation practices. Skins and rinds act as natural barriers which minimize the chance that surface contamination could be transferred internally. These protective barriers can guard the internal parts up to the point of harvest. 

The best approach to produce safe crops is to be aware of potential risks and establish behaviors that will minimize the chance of contamination. Based on the overall consumption of fresh produce, most foodborne illness is more likely to arise from contamination that takes place during food preparation and storage. However, contaminations have occurred and have impacted a large number of people. Prevention is much more effective than trying to clean up after food is contaminated.

This is a brief overview of keeping food contamination out of your home garden, follow the link at the end of the story for complete details of the following principles.-

Water: What is your water source? Irrigation methods that minimize contact between the water and the edible parts of the plant (such as drip irrigation) will reduce the potential for contamination. Be sure you aren't using water that could contain microorganisms that can cause foodborne illness.

Manure: Properly composted animal manures, domestic green manures, or municipal biosolids are not a source of microbial pathogens on fresh produce. However, become informed about proper home compost management for pathogen reduction. 

Animal Fecal Contamination: It is not possible to eliminate all animals from garden environments. Take steps to minimize their presence or activities. Domestic animals and pets should be excluded from areas with edible plants. Carefully consider whether chickens and other fowl are sensible additions to your garden. Fecal contamination from fowl has been linked to incidence of foodborne illness. Clean up places where animal vectors including rats and mice can live and hide, and clean up fallen fruit.

Washing Fresh Produce Prior to Consumption or Short-term Storage: Mechanical removal of soil and potential contaminants by brush-washing under running tap water is the recommended home practice. Antimicrobials are not generally recommended for home use and washing produce with soap is not advisable. Running water is strongly recommended over batch washing in a basin. The water doesn't have to run down the drain, though. Save it in a container to reuse in your garden.

Getting Started: Resources to Understand and Minimize Microbial Risks to Fresh Produce

Food Safety Fact Sheets and link to EPA Consumer Handbook for composting: http://vric.ucdavis.edu

Food Safety Begins On-the-Farm Brochure (English and Spanish): http://www.gaps.cornell.edu/

FoodSafe Program: http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu 

Partnership for Food Safety Education: http://www.fightbac.org

Bad Bug Book:  http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/CausesOfIllnessBadBugBook/

UC Master Gardeners of Napa County provide free home gardening advice. Visit, call or complete the Plant Problem Diagnosis Sheet  for assistance.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
UC Cooperative Extension 
1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa
(707) 253-4143

http://ucanr.edu/sites/ucmgnapa/