Lettuce Love

September 27th, 2008

My lettuce is loving this weather (and so am I). I’m looking forward to salad all fall with this patch and another one.

I have to put a fence around my lettuce or the rabbits mow it down, but that’s ok. Next year I’m considering putting up an electric fence around the back yard to keep all the critters out, but until then my little make-shift fences work.

Anyone have any great tips to keep the rabbits & groundhogs out of the lettuce patch?

Bring on the Salad Bowl

August 8th, 2008

A few weeks ago I ordered some lettuce seeds. I started them on the 23 of July. I put them in the basement where it’s cool (lettuce likes cool weather). A couple days later they germinated and then under the grow lights they went. This is what they looked like on July 27th.
I can’t believe how quickly these seedlings grew. I think the secret this time was the Dr Earth Starter Fertilizer that I added to my seed starting mix. From now I’ll be using this with all my seeds.

Today the seedlings went outside on the back deck to get ready for planting in the garden. They’ll stay there a couple days to get used to the sun & wind.

So what kinds of lettuce do I have for our late summer & fall salad bowl?

Black Seeded Simpson

Green Jericho Romaine Lettuce

Simpson Elite Lettuce

Red Sails Lettuce

I also started some Red Ruby cabbage for the fall.

The spinach seeds I started haven’t germinated much yet. I have one that’s just starting to emerge.

I can’t wait for all these salads.

Another Harvest

July 10th, 2008

Last Wednesday I picked most of the broccoli and most of the lettuce. I also picked some lime basil and made some Lime Basil Vinaigrette. We had a decent amount of both, enough for a few meals.

Little Lettuce Seedling

July 8th, 2008

The little lettuce seedlings have gotten their first set of true leaves. You can already tell what color of lettuce it’s going to be.

Today’s Harvest

June 24th, 2008

This morning I harvested some lettuce, beet greens, and nasturtiums for a salad for lunch. I’ll probably make some lemon vinaigrette and top the salad with almonds and a few local strawberries.

I also harvested my first head of broccoli, it looked like it was going to start to flower so I decided it was time to harvest. I’m not sure what kind of broccoli it is, I bought a packet of seeds at the local hardware this spring for 5 cents and it didn’t give a name. I steamed the broccoli and topped it with a little olive oil, garlic salt and some freshly ground pepper.

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This is a journal of my small organic gardens in north eastern Ohio, zone 5(a). Our gardens are named after our dog Lucy, a big brown/black lab mix from the local pound. We started calling her “Chiots” when she was a puppy and the name stuck. She thinks the yard and gardens belong to her, she chases away all squirrels & rabbits and the UPS man.

Our yard is very small and fairly shady, we are surrounded by woods all 3 sides. The soil is made up of rocks and clay, not the best, but I’ve spent 7 years adding chicken manure & compost. When we first moved in 8 years ago, the gardens were in terrible shape from years of neglect and too many chemical pesticides and fertilizers. It has taken years to reset the balance of nature and we're finally starting to see the fruit of our efforts. We unearth worms when we dig and we are seeing more and more birds and beneficial insects in the gardens. The soil is also starting to improve after years and years of hard work amending it with all kinds of organic compost.

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