Back in late April I mentioned our plans to become self-sufficient in salad fixings. I said, “Starting next month (or so), I don’t want to buy a single head of lettuce ever again, if I can help it.”
A month or so later and we are on the way. Over the last few weeks we’ve harvested bits and pieces here and there, but today I am harvesting the first two of eight fully formed heads of lettuce from the raised bed that is dedicated to greens. Unfortunately, I can’t take full credit for these plants as I bought them as transplants and did not sow them from seed. We were so behind this year between travel, bad weather, and building the garden that I decided to buy a few to give us a push.
Meanwhile, the recycling bin salad garden is coming along swimmingly. Changing the clamps kept the squirrels out and we haven’t had a problem since. Eventually the greens grew big enough that I was able to remove the chicken wire without any further digging. Unfortunately, I had to resow some seed after the squirrel digging debacle and this resulted in a very tightly sown bin. I’ve been carefully removing seedlings from the bin and transplanting them elsewhere in the garden (as well as pots) to make use of the extra plants and provide some space for those that are still in the bin.
We now have several lettuce plants on the go all around the garden, tucked in underneath and around this and that, as well as in the raised bed. I have also planted several mustard greens and lots of edible flowers throughout.
We are coming into a windfall of salad fixings. For the time being, I’ve bought my last bag of lettuce from the market. I just hope the summer heat doesn’t come on too strong, too quickly!
