All About Lettuce

Lettuce is a seriously underappreciated vegetable. I blame the laziness that defers to dull, yellow iceberg lettuce for every salad and sandwich people eat. There are dozens of varieties of lettuce and they are all really good for you! Most are also incredibly easy to grow from seed which can save you lots of money at the store and help you eat healthier. 

If you want to grow something familiar, then Romain Lettuce is a good option but I definitely prefer loose leaf, of cut and come again, lettuce. You can continually harvest leaves off the plant and it will continually grow new ones. Just don't ever harvest more than 50% of the leaves at a time. They also come in colorful seed mixes to brighten up your salads. 

Lettuce is very easy to grow from seed. PLEASE don't waste your money on plants at the garden center. 

Lettuce is a cool weather plant. It is easiest to grow in Spring and Fall. Here in York County, if the ground is bare (meaning there's no snow on the ground, if so you have to wait till it melts), then I'll put out a bit of seed on Saint Patricks Day (yes, in March) and then sow more seeds every few weeks until Mother's Day. Light frosts will not harm the seeds or seedlings. If you do get a hard frost (25 degrees F or less) then, just cover with some plastic for the night. 

Summer is difficult with lettuce because of the heat. Your best bet is to find "bolt resistant" varieties (it will say on the seed packet) and plant in partial shade. Bolting means the plant has gone to seed and will taste very bitter. 

For fall gardening, I start sowing lettuce seeds in Mid August and plant more out every few weeks till mid to late September. Eventually, the winter will be too much for the lettuce and it will go bad (it will be very limp in the garden) but you can extend the season with a simple cold frame or row cover. In August, be sure to not let your lettuce dry out. 

That's really all there is to it. Be sure to wash it thoroughly before eating. My salad spinner was only $10 at Walmart and works great. I've never had any pests or diseases on lettuce that made me even think about treating with pesticides. The occasional slug isn't hurting anything. Have you grown your own lettuce? Feel free to write about your experiences in the comments below!

Fall Gardening Part 1 - Edibles

I do love Fall

 

One bright side of the whole pandemic has been a surge in people wanting to grow their own food. If you haven't gotten on the bandwagon yet, or even if you have, it's not too late to plant more food for this years harvest. You might be surprised to learn that several kinds of vegetables actually prefer cooler weather and fall is a great time of year to grow them. 

Of course, the timing of planting depends on where you live. The farther north you are, the sooner a hard frost will come and put an end to your growing season. I live in south central Pennsylvania on the line between zone 6b and 7a. You can learn more about climate zone here. 

Carrots and peas can take a while to germinate so I planted my seeds last week. Carrots cannot be transplanted and peas are so easy to grow from seed that you don't need to buy plants. Lettuce, spinach and kale grow quicker so I've planted a little but I can plant them here up until Labor Day. Some vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, take so long to grow that you're really better off buying plants at your local garden center and planting them soon. Beets and radishes are also great to start from seeds now. 

The trick of fall gardening is that the plants don't like heat but you have to plant them in summer so they'll germinate and have enough time to grow. This means at least daily watering. It's a hassle, to be sure, but every October when I can still go outside and pick fresh produce I'm always so glad I planted more veggies ahead of time. It's also really important to keep the veggies clear of weeds and properly thinned out because sunlight will be more scarce in the fall and your plants will not due well with competition. 

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Do you practice gardening in fall? What are your tips and tricks? Feel free to post in the comments below. 

How to Perk Up Your Fall Garden

For those of you ambitious gardeners that planted for a fall crop to extend you harvest, this post is for you. If you haven't started your fall veggies yet, then here in central Pennsylvania it's too late to plant. Except for garlic and perennial onions of course, but that's another post. However, if you've planted lettuce, spinach, peas, beets, etc then I'm here to help.

So, fall gardening is all about managing resources. The days are getting shorter, so sunlight is more scarce. The weather tends to be drier in the fall so water is of concern. If you fertilized your soil in the spring, it may be in need of a boost. All of these things can cause your garden to stall. If you're disappointed in how your veggies are doing, then follow these steps.

First, eliminate competition for resources. That means be thorough with pulling out weeds. The good news is that weeds aren't as aggressive now as they are in the spring but be sure to get rid of the ones that are there. Also, it means thin out your seedlings more than you usually do. Seedlings packed together too closely will be stunted in growth.

Second, you can't do anything about a lack of sunlight but you can keep your garden beds watered regularly. As I'm writing this, we haven't gotten rain in quite a while so I gave my plants a good shower tonight.

Third, if you haven't fertilized it recently, now is a great time to side dress your plants. That means putting fertilizer or well rotted compost alongside your plants. Don't put them right on the plants as it may burn them. Your plants will thank you for it.

Do you enjoy fall gardening? Feel free to post your tips in the comments below!

Gardening In March

Today was so busy in the garden that I decided to take a break from the series I'm writing on pest control to share several ways you can enjoy your garden in March. Of course, I live in Pennsylvania so you may be ahead of us (if you live in the south) or you might have to wait a few more weeks (for those of you in the north). In any case, you don't have to wait till Mother's Day to play in the garden. Here are several things you can do now.

1. Prepare your soil for planting. This is me and my daughter raking out the soil in her raised bed. It's too early to plant her flowers yet we we're just getting it ready.

2. Clean out your perennial flower and herb beds. You can rake out all the dead plant material from last year and get  a head start on weeding.

3. Divide perennials and share with a friend. When plants like lilies and hostas are a few inches tall, it's a great time to divide them to thin them out. I dug some out of my bed to share with my neighbor.

4. Rake off some of the mulch off of the garlic. If you're lucky enough to have a garlic bed, now is a good time to thin off the mulch. I like to leave some on though to help retain moisture and keep down weeds.

5. Plant cold hardy flowers. Now is a fine time to plant a few specialty flowers like Helebore and Pansies that don't mind the cold. 

6. Any time of year is a great time to start composting but today was the day my wonderful husband made me this awesome bin. (it's on it's side in the picture). Seriously, everyone should get into composting. 

7. Enjoy the spring flowers that you planted last fall. 

8. Plant Spring veggies and put up rabbit fencing to keep animals out. You can read my post on spring vegetables Here. Erecting a fence is a great way to keep rabbits from mowing down your lettuce. 

Well, that's what I've been up to. Feel free to post about how you spend March in the garden at your house in the comments below. 

Save Loads of Cash on your Salads

So, in my initial post on saving money, my first suggestion was to grow loose leaf lettuce. Why? Because organic lettuce can cost you $9 a pound easily and if you don't eat it all quickly enough then you'll be throwing some of it out. Any beginner gardener can grow their own lettuce from seeds and pick the leaves as needed so there isn't any waste. I've grown all the lettuce my family needs for six months one year from a $3 pack of seeds. Here's a few things to keep in mind.

First, you'll need to prepare your garden or container (did I mention you can grow lettuce in containers on a deck or patio?). Lettuce isn't too picky so just be sure your soil is decent and loosened up. You don't need to buy plants at the garden center, lettuce is super easy to grow from seeds. I recommend buying a packet of seeds with a mix of different kinds of loose leaf lettuce. Loose leaf means that it doesn't grow into a head like iceberg lettuce does. This is a good thing because with head lettuce, you just pick it once and it's done. With loose leaf lettuce you can cut off leaves as you need them. My favorite is the Rocky Mountain Mix from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds but you can find seed mixes at any garden center.

Second, lettuce is a cool weather plant. It doesn't like to be hot. Here in central PA, I can directly plant lettuce seeds into the ground on Saint Patrick's Day as long as I plant them in a raised bed with lots of direct sunlight. That's right, mid-March; a full two months before the frost-free date. I can start harvesting lettuce by the end of April through the end of June. Then, I plant more in August so I can harvest it from Sept through November. Just plant a bit more every few weeks and realize that you probably won't get any in July and August due to the heat.

Third, when planting, just scatter the seeds on top of the soil or give it a light covering. Then keep the soil moist till the plants are established.

Finally, I mentioned above that I recommend getting a seed mix. Certain varieties of loose leaf lettuce can taste rather bitter on their own, such as escarole or arugula. If you get a mix, then you'll get a nice variety of flavors.

Have any of you grown lettuce before? Please comment about it in the section below!