Prepackaged Lettuce from the store...
 

I've been eating a lot of lettuce and have been buying the prepackage/boxed/bagged greens for the ease of it all. Does anyone know how they are grown and how they retain their freshness? When I grew lettuce outdoors before, it was so much work to wash them and dry them (super thoroughly) so they didn't spoil, so I'm curious how its being done commercially.

I've always been interested in growing in small spaces and am considering maybe growing my own using the Kratky method indoors this winter. (for those of you not familiar, its NON-circulating hydroponics.) However there is something weird to me about 'eating' something that soley feeds off of chemical fertilizers. Then I started thinking, how do I know if what I'm buying IS already hydroponic lettuce. Can hydroponic lettuce be considered 'organic'? I hope not... Hydroponic lettuce would explain how clean they are...

in my mind, hydroponics is like eating chemicals, so I associate it with something bad... is that correct? Would you eat hydroponically grown food?

[QUOTE=luigiwu;525748]I've been eating a lot of lettuce and have been buying the prepackage/boxed/bagged greens for the ease of it all. Does anyone know how they are grown and how they retain their freshness? When I grew lettuce outdoors before, it was so much work to wash them and dry them (super thoroughly) so they didn't spoil, so I'm curious how its being done commercially.

I've always been interested in growing in small spaces and am considering maybe growing my own using the Kratky method indoors this winter. (for those of you not familiar, its NON-circulating hydroponics.) However there is something weird to me about 'eating' something that soley feeds off of chemical fertilizers. Then I started thinking, how do I know if what I'm buying IS already hydroponic lettuce. Can hydroponic lettuce be considered 'organic'? I hope not... Hydroponic lettuce would explain how clean they are...[/QUOTE]

Easy Vacuum packing and nitrogen packing.
Without oxygen the stuff will last for a coons age.
This is how I pack large amounts of cole slaw I make.
I put it on a baggie and force all of the air out and zip it up.

If a person were inclined to they could by a bottle of nitrogen gas and do it at home.

Worth

Try waiting to wash it only when you're ready to use it. Pick a head, if it's leaf lettuce give it a couple of good shakes to dislodge anything that's hitched a ride, ziplock bag it, and put it in the crisper drawer. I've had it stay fresh for over a week this way.

The pre-packaged baby greens that I buy usually only stay fresh for a week, then they get slimy quickly, esp the red lettuces. I grow my own, and after picking them and washing/spinning them, I line a plastic or gallon zip bag with paper towels to absorb any excess moisture and they stay fresh for a week or longer.
I have nothing against hydroponically grown lettuces but find them lacking in taste. Nothing can beat home grown-in-the-garden lettuce, IMO. But not everyone has the luxury of a garden so whatever it takes to grow anything, I say go for it.:yes:

The ones I buy are T and A (Tanimura & Antle) Artisan Lettuce from Salinas, California.

There are four complete plants crammed upright into each container - dark red and green broad-leaf, and dark red and green frizzy-leaved.

They are packed in the field, not washed or cut, and last in good condition for a long time.

I don't have a problem with hydroponic produce. I'll take it over field grown produce that's been fertilized with sewer sludge.

I don't eat packaged, pre-cut, produce. E. coli and salmonella outbreaks often come from those products. Even packaged spinach, as opposed to tied spinach.