Kym and Lettuce
Last week my best friend, Kym, came to town to spend a few days. We had a wonderful time at the Strong National Museum of Play, Eastview Mall, and just hanging out at our place. Kym usually visits in winter or very early spring, so she'd never seen our yard in summer. As soon as she got here I took her on a tour of my gardens. She oohed and aahed appropriately, which was great fun for me :)
Later in the week we decided it would be nice to have lettuce for our sandwiches at lunch, but I wasn't sure when and how to harvest my lettuce. I did a little research and learned that with leaf lettuce, like the romaine I'm growing, you can take the outer leaves off and leave the rest to continue growing. Another way is to cut the whole plant off about one inch above the soil, leaving the plant to re-grow leaves. Since we only needed a few leaves for our sandwiches, I chose the first method. The leaves were somewhat bitter, but it was very fulfilling to eat lettuce I'd grown myself. I learned the bitterness might have been due to a plant left growing for too long, or it might be that's just the flavor of this certain type of lettuce.
A few evenings later I wanted salad for 2 for dinner. I cut an entire lettuce plant for that purpose, which gave enough lettuce for two side salads. I also pulled a few carrots to put in. Since my cucumbers were still just flowers, the radishes were gone, and the spinach and tomatoes still way too small, I added some store-bought red onions and croutons. I wasn't sure what to expect, thought it might be too bitter for my taste, but it was really a nice tasting salad! There were a few bitter leaves, but overall the salads were perfect. Success!
Later in the week we decided it would be nice to have lettuce for our sandwiches at lunch, but I wasn't sure when and how to harvest my lettuce. I did a little research and learned that with leaf lettuce, like the romaine I'm growing, you can take the outer leaves off and leave the rest to continue growing. Another way is to cut the whole plant off about one inch above the soil, leaving the plant to re-grow leaves. Since we only needed a few leaves for our sandwiches, I chose the first method. The leaves were somewhat bitter, but it was very fulfilling to eat lettuce I'd grown myself. I learned the bitterness might have been due to a plant left growing for too long, or it might be that's just the flavor of this certain type of lettuce.
A few evenings later I wanted salad for 2 for dinner. I cut an entire lettuce plant for that purpose, which gave enough lettuce for two side salads. I also pulled a few carrots to put in. Since my cucumbers were still just flowers, the radishes were gone, and the spinach and tomatoes still way too small, I added some store-bought red onions and croutons. I wasn't sure what to expect, thought it might be too bitter for my taste, but it was really a nice tasting salad! There were a few bitter leaves, but overall the salads were perfect. Success!