Help, leuttice sabboteur!

[bonniethomas06]

I would be really grateful if anyone could give me a clue as to what deciated my leuttice!

I had a row of Cos, growing away all nice and upright.

Yesterday evening, I came to find that 3 were all open and the leaves were all limp. On closer inspection, the leaves came away from the stem very easily - it was all pulpy and soggy, like wet tissue. There were no obvious teeth marks and the rest of the leaf was absolutely fine!

Any clues - they are very close to my prize broc and kale, and I would like to stop whatever it is before it goes that way! It was a very hot day but the rest were fine...

Thanks!

[Peggy Sue]

Don't worry too much about the broc & kale they are tough dudes.
Sounds like they may ahve been thirsty, lettuce and 99.9% water I think so a hot day and well drained soil can be pretty dramatic- were they dry?
Or it could be dreaded slugs, tey make the leaves go brown & slimey after a nibble?

[Millymollymandy]

Sounds like something has bitten or chewed off the lettuce leaves.... was the part where the leaves came away from the stem above ground or below? If below ground then the culprit is likely to be the chafer grub - they munch through the root and lettuces go flop immediately whereas brassicas which are a bit tougher can hold on for a bit longer, but look very sad. If it is munched off above ground it might be slugs - not really sure why it was pulpy and soggy though! I'd put down a beer trap in that area and see what falls in it.

I think if it was hot weather and the lettuce was too dry, although it may well be flopped over and limp it would still have been attached to the base/roots.

[bonniethomas06]

Thanks for the advice.

I have a horrible feeling you could be right about the chafer grub - it was a hot day but it had rained the night before, so not too dry - and the others were absolutely fine - stem above ground level and leaves intact, though droopy.

Fingers crossed the rest of the brassicas don't get nobbled!

[Millymollymandy]

I suggest you dig around under those dead lettuces and see if you can find it before it moves on!

Is it a new bed that used to be grass beforehand? - as they tend to live under lawn/grassed areas and can be a right pest in newly dug veg beds. If you have any chickens they love them.