Fresh Lettuce Season Is Over

November 4th found me weeding the last outdoor planting of lettuce for this year.  We have found planting lettuce seeds in plastic pots to be the most effective method for us.  High soil temperatures inhibit seed germination during the summer.  An early start is possible when the soil remains cold in the spring.  It is also much easier for our creaky bodies to thin the lettuce seedlings on the planting bench.  No bending over and the ability to see what needs to be removed are big pluses for us.  This planting was properly weeded and Becky clear cut it before the monster storm froze everything solid.  We ate the last of this lettuce yesterday.  It was wonderful.

There are always more plants than can be planted out since lettuce must go under a wire cage.  The plan was to move these plants into the basement on cold nights and set them out on the wall on warm sunny days.  There have been no warm sunny days recently and these plants now languish on a basement windowsill.  With December days close at hand, these plants are facing the end of their season.

Johnny's Select Seeds was our source for Flashy Trout Back lettuce.  Its color is bright and cheerful and the tasty is incredible.  Johnny recently retired selling the business to the employees.  It may be that the transfer of funds will be completed by an increase on each seed pack.  That is an admirable and responsible plan to transfer ownership but I found the new cost of a pack of lettuce seeds to be more than I was willing to pay.  The last of my stock of Flashy Trout Back seeds were planted.  The plants were left to go to seed but I never got around to collecting any.  Some self planted seed grew of its own accord but they are simply too late. I have to wonder if we can keep these little lettuce plants alive until spring but the odds are if I am to continue eating this variety of lettuce, the high price of seed will have to be paid.

Our fresh from the garden lettuce season started early and is ending quite late.  Repeated plantings kept the supply continuous.  Several years ago in a much smaller garden, we did enjoy fresh from the garden lettuce with Christmas dinner.  A small cold frame and a much later arrival of winter made that possible.  Perhaps we should look into a new cold frame for next year.

Start Your Engines

We are not waiting for this interminable Winter to wind down to start the new garden.  Seeds, soil containers and light are in the basement ready to use.  Six varieties of lettuce seeds were placed in soil this morning.  This early start may mean that the plants might remain in the pots indefinitely but they will still produce delicious early fresh salads.

Three favorite seed suppliers have their wares displayed in the photo.  Botanical Interests was our first source for Tavera green beans.  These are by far the best tasting green beans that we have ever eaten so Botanical Interests will receive an order from us every year.  Stokes have proven to be  a source of fairly priced reliable seeds packed in user friendly envelopes.  They always process an order from us.  Johnny's was a favorite seed source in the past.  Since the founder sold his company to the workers, seed prices have increased sharply to a point that I am unwilling to pay.  Flashy Trout Back is a fantastic lettuce that I can find no where else.  My few remaining old seeds were once again planted.  I wonder if I could persuade Botanical Interests to stock it?

The potting trays will hold 18 pots.  We leave one cell empty so that we can water the tray from the bottom and check on water still in the tray.  Each pot will be home to four plants if all of the seeds germinate.  A single seed was dropped in a shallow well near each corner of the pot.  Planting a single seed is no longer a skill taken for granted.  Manual dexterity, sensitivity and eye sight are not what they used to be.  I know that errant seeds were dropped and that no seeds may have been planted in some holes.  We will never know if the missing plants were the result of poor seed or fumble fingers.

Two quarts of water were poured in the empty cell and the plastic cover placed.  Four florescent tubes are on a timer scheduled for 16 hours of light each day.  Now we have seeded ground to watch.

My soil mix will provide some insight into the fussy nature of this gardener.  One measure each of sharp sand, woods dirt, peat moss and Miracle-Gro potting mix were combined with two measures of our own compost to make our seeding mix.  The Miracle-Gro mix contains large pieces of tree bark.  These were screened out.  Thirty gallons of this mixture are in the basement ready to use while everything outside remains cold or frozen.  One year long ago, I used the kitchen oven to sterilize my soil mixture.  The smell of baking worms filled the entire house.  Not surprisingly, we no longer plant in sterilized soil.

Lettuce Investment

Now it begins.  Ed set out his beautiful baby lettuce plants.  It's so exciting to plant the first lettuce transplants in the garden.  It's a real step toward those magnificent garden fresh salads we will soon enjoy.   Lettuce plants in the garden are like money in the bank except that this green stuff will increase at an amazing rate.   Money in the bank pretty much just sits there!

A few extra plants are still in left in their pots.  They will be planted in another spot.  In the meantime they grow where they are.  The red and green salad bowl plants are so pretty.  For me they rival flowers.

These are Flashy Trout Back.  One of Ed's  favorites, it is planted here every year.  These plants are still babies, but soon I will be able to pick these attractive leaves.  

 

Wouldn't you know it?  The very night that Ed  put the lettuce plants in the garden we had a cold downpour.  The tender plants were safe under this tarp. 

Here they are the next day standing tall.   Maybe it's just me but I think they have grown some already.    Ed is ready with the tarp in case the weather takes another nasty turn.  You might think us a tad overprotective, but they are our first babies of 2013!  We have to protect our investment.