Stop the presses! Our garden is a success! Many loyal blog readers know that I am a fan of a good salad, and I have absolutely loved making salads from our garden for the past few weeks. Such a rewarding experience. Most of the credit goes to Mr. Handsome, as he has done the majority of the work on the garden.
This is Black Seeded Simpson. It is one of the most popular varieties of lettuce and is fairly easy to grow (once you have gotten rid of the slugs…more on that later). I enjoy lettuce with just a vinaigrette dressing. Mr. Handsome usually needs a little more encouragement to eat a salad (cheese, croutons, and ranch dressing), but he has been happily eating our fresh lettuce with only a balsamic vinaigrette. I am so proud of him!
Our tomatoes are starting to produce, and I really hope that will continue. Last year, our plants were dead by this point We got a few green beans and even fewer peas, but those seem to be done. Our onion plants yielded exactly one onion the size of a plumb, but sadly there won’t be more. We are crossing our fingers for some success with out carrots and potatoes.
Has anyone else successfully grown lettuce or another crop this year?
Anonymous
Lettuce looks good, and I have to agree with Mr. Handsome about the extras on salads. I love a salad bar.
Eileen
We have been eating homegrown lettuce, spinach, pea pods, radishes, tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries. Beans, carrots and zucchini and peppers coming.
Anonymous
Unless you’re thinning, don’t pull your lettuce up by the roots like that. Leave the roots, pick the outer leaves, and the inner leaves will continue to grow. Pick a cooler/shadier spot this time of year or BSS will go quickly to bolt. Try for a second crop this fall, and I’ve even wintered over lettuce in a raised bed garden with brick walls and an acrylic top to insulate and trap sunshine.
Plant onion sets but use the young shoots as green onions. I don’t try to grow full-size onions because they’re relatively cheap in the grocery store and just as tasty.
Slugs can be defeated with shallow pans of beer left around the plants overnight. Delightful scenes will await you in the morning!
I grow lettuce (several kinds), arugula, kale, Swiss chard, spinach, radishes, peas, green onions, cucumbers, tomatoes (several kinds), eggplant, all kinds of herbs, and flowers galore. I’m sure I forgot something. Oh -zucchini and yellow squash. I’ve tried other vegetables over the years with and without success. I’ve even grown cotton, which turns into a gorgeous flowering plant kind of like a hibiscus or hollyhock. I’ve been growing gardens since I was a toddler and had my own plot to dig and seeds to plant. I won’t say how many years that’s been.
Funny you should mention carrots and potatoes. Two crops I’ve not had success with. Melons either. Or dill, related to carrot. Some years you just get too much rain and humidity for everything to thrive.
Ellie
Thank you for the suggestions! Very helpful. Are there certain types of lettuce and spinach that do better/are easier to grow than others?
Anonymous
Just about any leaf lettuce will do well for the novice gardener. Head lettuce is trickier. Spinach, they don’t sell seeds or plants that aren’t OK to grow. I mean, you’d have to really search for spinach seeds that weren’t developed for home gardeners. Watch soil temp with spinach. If it’s above 70, you have to wait til the soil cools off. Spinach then needs about 6 weeks to mature, so watch frost dates or be ready to protect the plants. It might help if you talk to local nurseries. Most have seed planting guides and calendars developed for your particular area. What works for one person probably won’t work for you if you’re in another zone. Plants know this already, LOL!
AmyRyb
Hang in there with the beans and peas. Many varieties have a couple waves. I usually get a round now (I’m in the northeast), and then they’ll go mostly dormant until later in August when I have another harvest. My beans did better with round 2 than my snap peas, but it was exciting to see flowers on both again! I guess if you have the space, they recommend planting waves of them a few weeks apart so you get more consistent harvests. I currently also have zucchini, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and some lettuce that is getting close to done. Small but fun little garden!
Ellie
That’s really helpful, AmyRyb. Thanks! I’m thinking of planting a fall garden too, but I don’t know much about it. Do you have any thoughts? Also, our carrots are still very small (the few that I pulled up are like 1 inch long). Do you know if there’s a decent chance they will keep growing, or are they most likely not going to get very big at this point?
Anonymous
Look on the backs of seed packs for planting times in your zone. You should be able to do another round of lettuce and other leafy greens. Investigate row covers and cold frames to extend your growing season.
Carrots take a long time from seed, sometimes not maturing for 3 months after germination. If your soil is not good (not loose, not very fertile) you can get stunted growth. If you didn’t thin the seedlings, same thing. Carrots are also picky about sunlight and consistency of watering/rain. Anything less than perfect can cause them to be small or to split. I’ve found that getting carrots that look like the picture on the seed packet can be frustrating.
Emily
Hey Ellie!
First of all, I love, love, love that you have been posting so much lately! I love reading about you and your family!
Second of all, have you tried growing lettuce inside? I personally don’t garden (my garden would be eaten alive by deer and rabbits if I tried!) but I have wanted to so badly, that I have been researching doing some planting indoors. I have read that lettuce grows very well indoors. I am anxious to try it myself!
Ellie
That’s very kind of you Emily. I’m glad to have you as a reader! I haven’t tried any vegetables inside. Sounds interesting! What kind of container would you use for lettuce indoors?
Lydia
Carrots will grow until after it freezes. They are actually best after a few weeks of freezing weather if you insulate them a bit (straw mulch). It makes them sweeter.