"Eating Greens is a Special Treat. It makes loong ears and great big feet. (but it sure is awful stuff to eat)" -Thumper
For the record I don't believe that last part, or I wouldn't be writing. And I'm happy to relate that my four year old Bambi enthusiast doesn't either.
Today I watered the dirt that might turn into grass, for the fifth year in a row. And when I went out to turn the water off, I found (not for the first time) a salad. And it occurs to me (not for the first time) that there is a good reason why that expensive box of leaves is called "Spring Greens". It's because it shoots up in the spring without any care or watering, using the moisture from the melted snow to grow up tender and sweet from where it was abandoned last fall. I didn't know how far I was going to let it go, I thought about it a lot. Probably too much. But today I plucked a few of those young and tender shoots and called it dinner.
This message has been brought to you with a free tip from my dirt patch to yours:
If your lettuce gets bitter, it isn't because it's too mature. It's because it's too hot. Lettuce doesn't actually need a lot of sun. Try covering it with a shade cloth for the hot summer months or just grow it in the spring and fall. It'll be sweeter and it might actually be a special treat. Also, don't believe everything you read on a seed packet. We may not have had our last frost but it isn't too early to plant your lettuce. It can actually take a light frost and recover just fine. Some of the tastiest greens I've eaten were harvested from under a light blanket of snow ;)
For the record I don't believe that last part, or I wouldn't be writing. And I'm happy to relate that my four year old Bambi enthusiast doesn't either.
Today I watered the dirt that might turn into grass, for the fifth year in a row. And when I went out to turn the water off, I found (not for the first time) a salad. And it occurs to me (not for the first time) that there is a good reason why that expensive box of leaves is called "Spring Greens". It's because it shoots up in the spring without any care or watering, using the moisture from the melted snow to grow up tender and sweet from where it was abandoned last fall. I didn't know how far I was going to let it go, I thought about it a lot. Probably too much. But today I plucked a few of those young and tender shoots and called it dinner. 
This message has been brought to you with a free tip from my dirt patch to yours:If your lettuce gets bitter, it isn't because it's too mature. It's because it's too hot. Lettuce doesn't actually need a lot of sun. Try covering it with a shade cloth for the hot summer months or just grow it in the spring and fall. It'll be sweeter and it might actually be a special treat. Also, don't believe everything you read on a seed packet. We may not have had our last frost but it isn't too early to plant your lettuce. It can actually take a light frost and recover just fine. Some of the tastiest greens I've eaten were harvested from under a light blanket of snow ;)
1 comment:
Thanks for the info Andrea. I am starting my lettuces this weekend. Crossing my fingers that my first year of gardening is a success!
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