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Lettuce Explosion

May 7th, 2012

Just last week I was looking at my lettuce wondering when it was going to get big enough to harvest. I guess all it needed was a good soaking rain a few days of sunny warm weather. We were away for a few days last week and during the 3 days we were gone things exploded in the garden, especially the lettuce.

My lettuce bed is about 10 foot long by about 4 foot wide and it’s now overflowing with lettuce. Looks like we’ll be eating salads every night for dinner for the coming weeks. No doubt we won’t be able to eat all of this lettuce, so it’s a good think I have a neighbor that will be happy to have some.

I don’t mind all this bounty, I’ve been patiently waiting for this day and made a big batch of salad dressing on Saturday. My salad dressing of choice in the spring is a balsamic vinaigrette made with a dash of maple syrup, garlic, shallots, freshly ground pepper, sea salt, a bit of whole grain mustard, apple cider vinegar and a healthy measure of good olive oil.

Is there anything that has exploded in your garden in the last week? What’s your favorite kind of salad dressing?

11 Comments to “Lettuce Explosion”
  1. kristin @ going country on May 7, 2012 at 5:04 am

    The asparagus is finally starting up, but I wouldn’t say it exploded. Thanks to the weird hot/cold periods we’ve been having, nothing has grown very predictably.

    I must admit to a shameful love for ranch dressing made with mayo, yogurt, dill, and garlic and onion powders. Shameful mostly because I eat it with tortilla chips as a way better version of Cool Ranch Doritos, and then I eat far too much of it. As a salad dressing, it’s great.

    Reply to kristin @ going country's comment

  2. Andrea Duke on May 7, 2012 at 6:06 am

    My peas. I had one little bloom for a few days and then all of the sudden, they were everywhere I looked. I’ve really been trying to protect them lately. I only grew Little Marvel this year.

    This is also exciting because for the last few years there has been some kind of bug destroying some of them when they were a few inches tall and I am always covering things from the deer. They can really do some heart-breaking damage!

    Reply to Andrea Duke's comment

  3. Kathi Cook on May 7, 2012 at 6:37 am

    My rhubarb is finally fully mature this year. I will be picking and cooking with it this weekend. I have it planted with my strawberries (my pie bed), but looks like I may have to move something in the next year or two. My two plants are huge now.
    IMyy favorite every night dressing is almost the same as yours. It really depends on my salad though. I also like to use white balsalmic vinegar and fresh citrus juice along with olive oil if I am having any fruit mixed with my greens.. Strawberries with arugula is one of my favorite combinations!

    Reply to Kathi Cook's comment

    • Susy on May 7, 2012 at 7:19 am

      My rhubarb is still small, can’t wait until it’s ready to harvest. These plants will definitely be going with me when I move!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. daisy on May 7, 2012 at 7:57 am

    Your lettce looks mouth-watering! I am still able to harvest, but it will soon be bolting. We haven’t had rain in weeks. :0(
    You have one lucky neighbor!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  5. Allison on May 7, 2012 at 8:43 am

    Our lettuce finally woke up this past week too :)

    Reply to Allison's comment

  6. Maybelline on May 7, 2012 at 11:17 am

    My lettuce exploded/bolted and has been removed and replaced by onions and radishes.

    Favorite dressing : Italian. I don’t like any “creamy” types of dressing.

    Reply to Maybelline's comment

  7. judym on May 7, 2012 at 11:21 am

    our asparagus is growing – yummy suppers! herbs are waking up and container potatoes are starting to sprout. can;t wait to see how that works out! Peas are coming but are being challenged by critters. The fight is on as to who wins.

    Reply to judym's comment

  8. Marcia on May 7, 2012 at 11:28 am

    We usually put the garden in May long weekend here and that is still two weeks away. But I let my spinach get away from me last year and it went up in seed. I now have a big patch of spinach coming up that should be ready to eat soon.

    Reply to Marcia's comment

  9. elizabeth on May 7, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    I’m eating arugula, pea shoots and spinach right now.
    What varities of lettuce are you growing this year?

    Reply to elizabeth's comment

  10. Pat on May 15, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    My blackberries … I’m picking a huge bowlful every time I go out to visit them now … I think some jam is in the stars ;)

    Reply to Pat's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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