Tag Archives: lettuce

Lettuce, lettuce, and more lettuce!

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multi-leaf lettuce in the square foot gardenThis is the best time of year to start planting lettuce like crazy!  The soil is cool-which it likes, and the days are getting longer.  I usually plant a couple of squares every 5 days or so, but that number will probably increase to 4 or 5 squares every 5-7 days.  There’s nothing like spring lettuce.  Well, fall lettuce is a pretty good rival, but it doesn’t beat spring.  This cooler, damp weather of spring is the perfect time to start.

I’ve been asked what other things I start at this time of year.  Though I start all my lettuces directly into the soil, I will plant a few things indoors in preparation for early summer starts.  Thinks like tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, leeks, and cucumbers have all been sprouted and are now in little pot maker cups.  In just a couple of days they will begin to poke through the soil and it will be time to place them under lights.

One of the lettuces I’ve had a lot of success with is something called EZ Cut by Burpee. It’s a multi-leaf lettuce, meaning that if you cut it at the base all the leaves will be nearly all the identical size.  That’s different than other lettuces where the outer leaves are much larger than the inner cored leaves.  There’s another variety from Johnny’s(Salanova) and one from Jungs(multi-leaf) that I’ve also had experience with. You ought to give these a try.  Johnny’s has gotten to be a little to pricey for me, but the others from Burpee and Jungs are good.

If you need to buy seeds you should check out Burpee’s .99 shipping which is good until the end of this month.  It’s for any sized order and the promotional code is listed in the links on my blog.  It is not listed on the Burpee site. There’s so many fun things to check out this year.  Order a catalog or look through it online to see some of the new varieties available.[ois skin=”1″]

Spring square foot gardening

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spring square foot gardenLay down a weed barrier, build a box and put it right on top of it. Fill it with the perfect growing soil, add a grid, and start planting. That’s the beginning of a basic square foot garden. With the perfect mix put together in about 10 minutes, you don’t need to know anything about soil composition, pH, or NPK! Zero. As I’ve always said, if you don’t get the soil right nothing else will really matter. There are some who try to convince others that there’s nothing wrong with native soil. Not unless you don’t mind weeding! Let’s face it, native soil is one of the things that cause a lot of the trouble. Don’t skimp on the SFG soil-set yourself up for success by using the recipe of equal parts of peat moss, course vermiculite, and a good, blended compost.  Though we’ll still have some weather issues to deal with, now is the time that I direct seed lettuces, spinach, poc choi, arugula, and a few other things. These are cold weather crops that do just fine in our USDA growing zone of 6B. If you don’t trust the weather you can always start them inside under a grow light. If I do that, I always keep my shop-light about 2 inches above the plants. This assures that I’ll get no long, spindly looking plants. If you’re looking for a nice tutorial on seed starting click here.  You can also get there from the links on my page.

Here’s the lettuce varieties I direct planted today.  Prize head, Little Caeser, and finally this Gourmet Blend.  Only 3 squares of lettuce, each one holding 4 heads.  I finished by direct seeding this delicious swiss chard, and then 1 square of beets that I usually grow for the greens only.

In about another week it will be time to start tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, and peppers indoors.  The timing usually works out pretty well, and it’s even better if you’re prepared to quickly protect your garden if you have to.

Burpee is having quite a few specials this month.  They are linked on the left hand side of my blog.  If you’re going to spend $45 on seeds, you might as well spend another $5 and get the free 72 cell watering kit.  And until the last day of March, shipping is only .99 for any size order.  Details are in the links.[ois skin=”1″]

Spring season is here for some square foot gardeners

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spring square foot gardenSpring time is here if you’ve taken care of your (square foot) gardens during the fall and winter. If you’re able to cover your boxes with plastic, your soil will be ready for planting in a few days. There will be more winter weather to come, but if you’ve been able to minimize the size of your gardens as we teach in the SFG system, it becomes very easy to protect.

I’ve been asked to make some suggestion for a few of my favorite things to grow during spring. I grow many things but if I had to choose my all-time favorite item to grow during any season it would have to be lettuce. I’ve trialed many different varieties during the past 5-6 years and have discovered some wonderful cultivars. Here we go: EZ serve, Heatwave, Black Seeded Simpsom, 4 Seasons, Yugoslavian Red, Little Caesar, Forellenschluss, and my very favorite-Green Ice.

My recommendation for spinach is Space. It’s got a classic taste, performs well, and is resistant to mildew. Remember several years ago when there was no spinach to be found in the U.S. because of some kind of contamination issues? Grow your own and never have to worry about that again.

If you’ve only grown black beauty zucchini in the past a recommendation for a new squash would be Golden Egg. These tasty gems work great on the grill or for stuffing, and have a cartelized, nutty taste.

How about something new for cucumbers? Give Iznik some thought. This German variety is picked when its 4-5 inches long and grows on compact vines all summer long.

Here’s one last tip: if you order from Burpee, which is advertised on my blog, be sure to add the code “B1FA” in the promotional box when checking out. This will give you free shipping, but the offer ends on February 20th. This is a good way to keep your spending on seeds to a minimum[ois skin=”1″]

Early square foot garden planting

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early spring planting of arugula and lettuceI know it’s probably way too early to start but I like to experiment on cheating the seasons. I’ve still got 2 layers of protection over my square foot garden main beds and feel pretty confident that I can get these two crops to germinate and grow.

I decided to give this an attempt because I looked at the weather report and saw low’s in the mid-20’s, highs in the upper-30’s to low-40’s and some sunshine. That should be good enough to start a few things. The real issue is bang-for-the buck.

This will successfully grow(hopefully)and be done in about 80 days. If I wait another 3 weeks and began planting lettuce then, it would be ready in 55-60 days. So, why start early? Because I’m bored. We hit the 10 hours of sunlight later this week which is another early sign that spring is close.

To learn more about the two crops planted click here and here. I love this variety of arugula. It’s milder than any I’ve had before, and it’e even more so when harvested in the baby stages.

By clicking on any of my Burpee links, you get free shipping for online orders of any size by entering “B1FA” into the promotion code box when checking out. Its a great time to start ordering your seeds[ois skin=”1″]

The Winter garden, part 3

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winter garden of goodies under the coversAnd that’s what underneath. Lots of snow with a lot still to come. Wish I would have planned a little better for the winter. I waited just a tad too long to plant because I was too busy growing for customers. I might have enough to take us through January but that might be about it. Since many of the seed catalogs have arrived I’ve begun to plan for the early spring. Nothing better than sitting inside in the dead of winter with a good seed catalog to look over.

This will be a very short post. I wanted to put something on before the big day got here. With that I wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I’ll be taking some time off until after the first of the year.[ois skin=”1″]