The Crafty Cultivator

Along with my home-grown Italian Seasoning, I am attempting to grow actual heads of lettuce this year.

It is a little early, but I started a few cells of “Little Gem”, “Cos or Romaine”, and some “Mei Qing Choi” Pak Choi on March 20th. Around April 3rd, I will probably do another sowing, so I have a succession of them.

   “Little Gem” is a romaine type lettuce. I had some as cut-and-come-again last year, because I forgot to thin them out intime, and it was a nice soft lettuce, so I’m looking forward to attempting to have a head of it this time. 

As for the “Cos or Romaine” type lettuce, I hope to be able to make a ceaser salad from it, IF it works out.

I also have some “Tom Thumb” lettuce to sow in a few weeks, which may be my saving grace in this goal of growing a head of lettuce, since they grow about tennis ball sized according to the seed packet. I think something the size of a tennis ball will be more attainable than something the size of a small volleyball.. Or something that is roughly the same size as a head of “Little Gem” lettuce?”

 The Pak Choi is actually a Brassica, so I will need to protect it from the cabbage white butterflies before they decide to make it a nursery for their caterpillar children.

The current plan in my head is to move the Veg-Trug planter that my fiancée built me last year, to a more shaded area by the shed, and then keep the lettuces and maybe the “Pixie” Cabbage there. It just got too hot last year and I couldn’t keep up with the watering. But I’ll keep you up to date on the plans as they progress. We also have a patio to build this year, so our backyard will be changing a lot this summer. I hope to have in-ground raised beds all around, and move away from JUST containers.