Where America Gets Almost All Its Winter Lettuce

Jackie22

Jackie22

Well-known Member
Location
Northeast Texas
Unless you're a homesteader, a Sunbelt resident who eats only food from your local farmers market, or an extremely devout carnivore, you've almost certainly eaten lettuce from Yuma, Arizona, a city of 93,000 at the nexus of Arizona, California and Mexico. The Yuma area, including the Imperial Valley across the California border, produces about 90 percent of all the leafy vegetables grown in the United States from November to March, when it's too cold to grow produce in most of the rest of the country.
Click to expand...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/04/yuma-lettuce_n_6796398.html?utm_hp_ref=taste&ir=Taste

o-LETTUCE-FIELD-CLOSEUP-900.jpg
 

Great pictures Jackie and very educational.
It shows how much work goes into our winter greens and gives information
about Yuma that I didn't know.
 
As an Arizona guy I am very aware of the information in the article. I have spent countless hours in the Yuma area fishing the river and the drops in the All American canal. Caught some great channel and flat head catfish there over the years my largest went 34 pounds. However the best tasting fish are the smaller ones (3-6 lbs). Fry them up rolled in flour, egg, milk and cracker crumbs and you have a treat at the end of a hard days fishing. It gets extremely hot in summer, as does all of our desert but it's great for late night fishing. I have been there when it was 124 degrees in the afternoon. Thanks Jackie for posting.
 

Jackie,

this was sooooooooo cool to know about, and loved the photos. My grandparents LOVED Yuma and went every year. They've been gone now since the 60's but I have the memories of their stories and pics. It was neat to see all these pics of the area, thanks for sharing;) I have to read all of it yet, but was wondering if they do other leafy greens which I am addicted to like spinach. For just me I buy the 50/50 mix. I imagine they ship the lettuce to plants that make up those combos;)
 
Thanks Jackie. Interesting. Think I'll make a salad for lunch and maybe try some of the different varieties.
I've been only using iceberg and Romaine. Yuma might be a nice place to live.
 
Glad you all enjoyed it....I was surprised that the lettuce is dipped in the chlorine water and boxed right there in the field.

Last year when I was in San Diego, we went by an area where Dole ships out vegetables and fruit, I was amazed at the size of it.
 
Extreme high temperatures officially recorded in the United States
​
Location​
°F​
°C​
Date​
Death Valley, California 134 56.7 July 10, 1913
Death Valley, California 129 53.9 July 18, 1998
Death Valley, California 129 53.9 July 20, 2005
Death Valley, California 129 53.9 July 7, 2007
Death Valley, California 128 53.3 June 30, 1994
Death Valley, California 128 53.3 July 10, 2002
Death Valley, California 128 53.3 July 19, 2009
Death Valley, California 128 53.3 July 12, 2012
Lake Havasu City, Arizona 128 53.3 June 29, 1994
Gold Rock Ranch, California 127 52.8 July 28, 1995
Mecca, California 126 52.2 June 26, 1990
Palmdale, California 126 52.2 July 28, 1995
Thermal, California 126 52.2 July 28, 1995
Buckeye, Arizona 125 51.7 July 28, 1995
Laughlin, Nevada 125 51.7 June 29, 1994
Laveen, Arizona 125 51.7 July 28, 1995
Litchfield Park, Arizona 125 51.7 July 29, 1995
Needles Airport, California 125 51.7 July 17, 2005
Willow Beach, Arizona 124 51.1 July 19, 2005
Yuma Airport, Arizona 124 51.1 July 28, 1995
Casa Grande Monument, Arizona 123 50.6 June 30, 1994
Palm Springs, California 123 50.6 July 28, 1995
Phoenix Airport, Arizona 122 50.0 June 26, 1990
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, NM 122 50.0 June 27, 1994

See why it grows Lettuce? Lot's of bright sunshine, most all year.
 

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