Feeding and Nutrition :: Keeping Lettuce Fresh

[CrushnSquirt]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone have any tips on keeping your lettuce fresh? I own two turtles and even if I give them lettuce everday, I still always end up wasting some of the bunch that I buy at the grocery store. (They just don't seem to sell them in smaller bunches!)

So I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how they store my romaine or red leaf lettuce to keep it the freshest so it doesn't go bad?!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Rebecca

[SpotsMama]

If you find a way let me know! I have the same problem. I throw away a large part of almost every bunch I get.

[DavidY]

I buy the bag salads and that usually lasts almost a week. I also like to eat salad too so that helps!

[Tenodera]

lol same problem for me!

I should go get more pets ( or people) that eat lettuce so so much of it wouldn't go to waste!

[Starchick]

I used to go to a salad bar so I could buy 8 cents worth of stuff to last a couple days, but now with two turtles, I buy bagged salad and split it, and I usually don't throw out too much, just the paler leaves that I prefer not to feed anyway. As far as other veggies, I'm with you, they sell them in insanely big bunches.

Edit: Forgot to mention, you can always grow some stuff at home for them. I love doing flowerpots with different things, and right now I'm growing basil and peppers for my turts.

[SpotsMama]

You are so right about growing stuff for them in pots. I'm growing basil now, and I usually grow peppers. They will stay fresh until you pick them!

[DavidY]

Like Tenodera said, get more pets! Bearded dragons eat lots of lettuce.

[SpotsMama]

Do they bite?

[DavidY]

Bearded Dragons? Very rarely do i get a dragon that bites. 95% of my dragon babies turn out to be quite hand tame. I do have one fiesty juvenile male that does bite though and he is very aggressive, but that's the first one that I've raised that has been this aggressive. I've had a couple of others that would get scared at first when you put your hand in the tank and they would open their mouths as if to bite, but usually they will try to run away if the threat doesn't work. But I work with them for a while and they usually become hand tame fairly easily. Most of the dragons are just really sweet and will let me pick them up without a fuss. When they are really young (less than 1 year old) they will try to jump and run if they get the chance, but that's because they are still nervous and have a strong flight instinct. As they reach adult size and with regular handling (once or twice a week) they calm right down and will ride around on your shoulder. The more time you spend with them the more attached to you they will become. That's why they make such good pets because they don't get stressed out with regular handling. They actually enjoy it once they are comfortable with you.

[jenaero]

One word for you.... tinfoil. Wrap the lettuce loosely in tinfoil and close the ends up tight. Toss that in the crisper and it should last a lot longer.

[lotsofpets]

I did a search on this when I first came on here. What it said and what I do is to wash the lettuce really well separating all of the leaves, and then put the whole works into like a large plastic box made for refigerator use. My lettuce keeps perfectly green and crisp for more than a month this way! For other veggies like bell peppers, squash, and sweet potato, I wash them when I get home and cut them up and put them into the freezer in bags. That way when I need to feed my guys, I just take out a chunk or leaf and plop it into their habitat. (The squash, carrots, and sweet potato need cooked a bit to soften them) The bell peppers and squash I took seeds from and are now growing in some makeshift gardens on my deck. I am also trying to grow a couple types of lettuce, basil, and tomatoes.

[industrial_girl_2000]

I buy the organic romaine baby salad mix in a plastic container (not a bag...haven't tried the bag salads yet). I don't know what kind of plastic the container is made out of, but I can get the lettuce leaves to stay fresh for a week (roughly the amount of time that it takes for Sheba to eat it all).

Also, with my collards, I store them in a plastic bag. They tend to wilt too fast if I just let them sit in the fridge outside a bag. Again, they last about a week if I wrap them in one of those filmy plastic veggie bags.

[DavidY]

Wow, those are all some really cool ideas, everybody.

For collard greens, I wash them then wrap them in moist paper towel and put that in a plastic bag. The bag should be loose and not sealed. They usually last a couple of weeks that way or at least they don't wilt as quickly.

[SpotsMama]

What a lot of good ideas! I'm going to give them a try.

[KalinaBallerina]

If I feed lettuce from salads, it's always from bagged salads that my husband and I eat as well. We tend to have a salad every night with dinner (even if it is only lettuce and fat-free dressing), so we tend to go through about a bag a week.