7/21/2026
You would have to be living under a rock to not have heard of the latest food borne illness - cyclosporiasis — an intestinal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis connected with big ag’s growing of lettuce.
Where do I even start?
The company behind this outbreak is Taylor farms which calls themselves a “family farm”. Now, I don’t know about you but do you know of ANY family farms that have over 25 thousand employees (and only about 2K being based here domestically in Salinas, CA - our states lettuce bowl). Nope.
And now it has came to light their political maneuvering- donating millions of dollars to conservative super pacs including MAGA who directs the actions (or inactions) of the FDA. Wow.
It’s not like this is even the first time this company has been linked to a Cyclospora outbreak. In 2013 Taylor Farms' salad mixes originating from a facility in Guanajuato, Mexico, were heavily linked to a national Cyclospora outbreak that sickened hundreds of people.
We are talking about a company that controls nearly a third (33%) of the United States "value-added" (packaged salad and pre-cut) leafy green market. Are you loving Trader Joes prepackaged salads? Taylor Farms is a primary supplier behind many of Trader Joe’s bagged salad kits, chopped salads, and pre-cut vegetable trays.
Let’s take a moment now at step back and take a wider view. Lettuce, one of the most perishible of all crops is being grown in massive scale, transported thousands of miles, processed in facilities, packaged in containers and shipped yet again. How many points in the system is there potential for contimination? (side point…as a grower I am asking myself how in the world this lettuce is managing to be fresh when there are so many stops along the way).
This outbreak is bringing awareness to many vital issues but I want to zero in on this: large scale agriculture is no longer about food. It is about profit. Nutrition and health, the basis of food itself can only be assured if 1. we grow it ourselves and/or 2. we know the person (s) who grow it. Period.
This post is my inaugural entry on this brand new Grow Your Own membership aspect of Rolling Hills. Born from the commitment behind all of our work, to help folks like yourself grow more of your own food in whatever space you have and fueled to action as a way to deal with the disgust and anger surrounding this current food borne illness that has made so many folks acutely sick.
Starting this weekend, we will have lettuce seed packs available at our Urban Farm Stand every weekend and we will also have lettuce plugs [1 inch rooted plants you take home and plant in your garden] on the stand every weekend. Give us a few weeks to get them grown. In addition, we will be adding plugs of other high risk crops - leafy greens such as kale, chard, arugula, mesclun, cilantro, parsley, in the weeks to come.
Look for leafy green growbags as well: pre-planted portable container plantings on the produce stand very soon as well.
Seed Starting lettuce.
Smaller seed, like lettuce is dependent on light to germinate so simply scatter seed on soil surface and sprinkle a dusting of soil on the seed (like a sprinkle of powdered sugar) to prevent wind from blowing them away.
Mist the seeds. A harsh stream of water can literally wash seeds away and or cover them with so much soil that they can not germinate.
Less seed is more. Lettuce seeds are very small so one might think a heavy handed approach is best but it not. Give seeds room to grow into a nice full head.
Lettuce is cut and come again. This means that it grows back after harvesting. One lettuce plant can be harvested many many times.
How to harvest? You can simply remove exterior leaves or you can remove the top 1/3 of the plant using a knife.
Fertilizing. Lettuce loves nitrogen. A fish emulsion is perfect. Feed once every 4 weeks. Water at the base of the plant.
Lettuce varieties to grow in July/August/September:
Batavian (Summercrisp): Nevada, Muir, and Sierra are the gold standard for resisting bitterness and bolting during warm spells.
Romaine/Cos: Jericho (bred in the desert and highly drought-tolerant), Parris Island Cos
Looseleaf: Red Sails, Black Seeded Simpson, and New Red Fire.
Water: Deep daily watering. Use mulch to help hold in soil moisture. Use a soil moisture probe to make sure your soil is hydrated adequately.
Avoid placing in full day direct light. It’s simply too hot.