To find a system for growing consistent lettuce in the heat of the summer in eastern Ontario, Luke and Dana compared different methods of altering the microclimate for lettuce including black landscape fabric (control); white landscape fabric, and white landscape fabric with shade cloth.

In a Nutshell

• Luke and Dana did not have the statistical power to detect differences in lettuce yield among treatments.
• From their observations, they will grow more mid-summer lettuce to help increase quantity available; and they will grow it on white landscape fabric to help with quality.
• They will continue to use black fabric during the spring and fall.
• They also plan to continue to experiment with shade cloth for 1-2 weeks post transplant during peak heat.