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So Long Lettuce

July 12th, 2014

It’s been warm here in Maine, in the 80’s most days. I like the warmth, so do the peppers and tomatoes, the lettuce however does not. When it gets hot the lettuce bolts into tall spires that are quite stunning. I always leave a few to set seed for next year, fresh lettuce seed sprouts so quickly and it’s so easy to save your own see.
lettuce 2
This year I grew a variety called ‘Ruby Gem’ that was AMAZING. By far my favorite lettuce ever. This variety is also packed with antioxidants because it’s a very deep red.
lettuce 2
For now we will say goodbye to spring salads and we welcome zucchini, peas, beans, and other warm weather vegetables in their place. It’s also time to plant more lettuce for fall and winter crops. For me lettuce is one of my favorite things to grow, I love fresh salads and will eat as many as I can in spring, summer, fall and winter. I don’t buy lettuce at the store though, so it’s always bittersweet when the lettuce fades until the next harvest.

Do you have any vegetables that are nearing their end in the garden? What will you miss the most?

4 Comments to “So Long Lettuce”
  1. Robin on July 12, 2014 at 6:42 am

    I like the convenience of free range lettuce. I left one whose name I can’t remember to go to seed for early winter lettuce.

    The first broccoli and spinach are gone, carrots almost gone, and there’s only one cabbage left. The lettuce is starting to get bitter so it’s going to the pigs and poultry. I’ll seed Anuenue this week. The first cucumbers should be ready by week’s end.

    Reply to Robin's comment

  2. Heather on July 12, 2014 at 7:02 am

    Is the “ruby gem” lettuce even better than the “roxy” lettuce you had grown before?

    Reply to Heather's comment

  3. Nebraska Dave on July 12, 2014 at 9:26 am

    Susy, the lettuce here has seen better days as well. I am leaving the cabbages just a few more days but I think they are finished growing. Leaving them in the garden is more for my convenience than more growth. Garden weeding is still on top of the ToDo list. More of that today. The grape tomatoes are starting to mature with luscious little mouthfuls that never make it out of the garden area of the backyard.

    Thoughts for the fall garden are to plant more and different salad varieties. Radishes, lettuce, and maybe more cabbage. Green beans were a total bust this year. I’m not sure why. They were a brand name. Very few sprouted. It will be the last time I buy seeds from the big box store. The extra cost and a few days wait for seeds makes a big difference. A lesson re learned this year.

    Have a great transitional garden season day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  4. Sarah on July 14, 2014 at 3:42 pm

    Our lettuce is long gone, in fact my tomatoes are mostly done, they don’t like days over 100 degrees.

    I have some arugula growing though, and a little chard left. I have good luck growing them in the heat.

    Reply to Sarah'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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