You will probably laugh, but I
love growing lettuce! Weather is
obviously a big factor but continuous harvest and reseeding will keep you in
nutritious greens almost year around. The key is to protect them from extreme
cold and heat by using floating row covers and netting. There are many
varieties that work well at altitude.
I prefer the red and green leaf
lettuces to head lettuce. Curly endive,
arugula, mache and mesclun varieties are a bit different and add color and
interest to salads. I also like to throw
in a couple of herbs and edible flowers to the bed. This year I tried pennyroyal (Mentha
pulegium) and I always love nasturtiums (Nasturtium officinale). Both deter pests and nasturtium is fabulous for
color (bright orange red and yellow) in the garden and delight in a salad. Nasturtium are a member of the watercress
family, have a light peppery flavor and make your salad look like it came out
of a gourmet’s kitchen! Pennyroyal, a member
of the mint family, spread well, and did a good job keeping down the weeds.
To find the varieties I preferred
to buy seeds with several different types, often called a salad blend. Watching them grow, you can determine what is
most flavorful and prolific. It’s a good
plan to always find choices with the shortest maturity dates but lettuce is
such an instant gratifier that it sprouts almost overnight!
This year I tried a new variety
of romaine lettuce called “Freckles” which was fun. It tolerated summer sun very well, stayed
crisp and its red and green freckly color was an addition to the garden. The watercress wasn’t as successful. It was planted in a bed that wasn’t covered
and it clearly didn’t grow as well. I
think the light was OK but it got way too much rain (did I just say that?) so
grew more slowly than I think it should have.
I look forward to trying it again in a different bed.
Growing lettuce is pretty easy if
I can do it; just protect it from all elements, harvest often, and enjoy your
bounty. Pick right before you plan to eat,
as some varieties will be a bit limp if harvested too long before serving. Taste is good but texture isn’t as
appetizing. Try something new you’ve
never eaten before and I promise you’ll be happy. If you don’t like it, I bet you have a friend
or neighbor who will. I recently visited
the Boulder Farmer’s Market and saw bags of salad greens very similar to the
varieties I listed above. Imagine how
pleased I was with myself seeing how much the farms were charging for “my
crops”!!!
For information on the health benefits
of home grown lettuce and pictures of many varieties, check out CSU Fact Sheet
9.373. General info on all leafy
vegetables can be found in Planttalk 1820.
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