Lettuce

[Tucson Grower]

Recently I began eating a few vegetables. I generally have no trouble eating okra. I particularly enjoy it raw. But I try not to buy any - I prefer to grow my own. I've often grown lettuce, beans, squash, and a few other vegetables. I don't really like to eat any vegetables, other than raw okra. But, to help my doctors and health-coaches, feel better about their jobs, I began growing "Isle of Naxos, Basil" and several different varieties of lettuce, several varieties of radish, especially several types of Daikon radish. I do enjoy the Korean Daikon, white with a green top, and a purple fleshed variety. They have less spiciness than many radishes. Anyway I began this thread to mention a new favorite I discovered, I cut off a few lettuce leaves (several different varieties), fold them into a firm ball, then wrap them with a few basil leaves, then munch away. The basil helps me with the mild bitterness that some of the lettuce leaves have. I really enjoy the fresh combo.

[amyinowasso]

I have a friend from Singapore. She and her Okie husband lived in Hong Kong for a while. Apparently in China, daikon is thought of as a turnip. The couple actually got in a disagreement over whether a daikon is a turnip or a radish.
thewoksoflife.com/turnip-cake-lo-bak-go/

[macmex]

Years ago someone gave me a whole lot of seed for the Bible Institute in Central Mexico, where I was teaching. In that seed was seed for Spanish Black radish. We grew it and before I knew it, the cook cooked them and served them like turnips. You know... they kind of tasted like turnips too!

[woodeye]

amyinowasso, I gotta make that. Thanks for posting the link, I'd never heard of such a thing as Turnip Cake. I love all things turnips or radishes, there won't be any squabbles about it here...

[Tucson Grower]

Yes, turnips and radishes are close relatives, all in the cabbage family. Typical radishes are; Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus, Daikon radishes are; Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus and Turnips are; Brassica rapa subsp. rapa. They may not be interfertile, i.e. they won't pollinate each other to produce viable inter-species fertile hybrid seed. But, it is quite true that they look similar and taste similar, though it is said that turnips are even more nutritious than radishes. As long as we don't confuse the taxonomic names, to the dismay of our posterity, what we call them, shouldn't really matter all that much. The seed can still be saved, and the produce can still be eaten, however we prefer. 

[Tucson Grower]

Well, along with the daikon radishes and bok choy, I started tending several different type of lettuce, now, those I kept for seed are starting to bloom, quite vigorously, there are hundreds of their pretty yellow flowers, shining brightly every sunny day. The flowers on the red varieties seem to be an even darker yellow, or it may just be because of the contrast. When the javelina were mowing the daikon and pak choy, they hardly bothered the lettuce.

[FrostyTurnip]

Charles Dowding just stated in his last video that lettuces of differing varieties won’t cross.  How is it I am a member of a seed saving forum and do not understand this?  Ya’ll be kind, now.  

[macmex]

They do cross. I've seen it happen. However, they are not too prone to crossing. If one gives two varieties of lettuce, say, ten feet isolation distance, then they're unlikely to cross. When I've had them cross the plants were side by side and the percentage of crossing was low.