HELP! I'M DROWNING.....in lettuce. Calling all children, calling all children: your mother wants you to stop by for lettuce. Soon!
I already had three large containers full of lettuce in the refrigerator, but more was needing to be picked before it got too large and bitter.
The front half of the main lettuce bed was bulging with large heads of Red Sails and Austrian Red Butterhead.
It was crowding out some of the new seedlings I had planted between them earlier this month.
A single head of Red Sails filled my large harvest basket.
Two more heads were crammed into the basket, just one more to go.
There. Now the seedlings have a bit of room to grow.
Isn't it a pretty basket of lettuce?
The heads aren't really heavy, but they are large. This one was nearly 18" across.
There was very little slug damage on the Red Sails. Slugs and birds seem to like the green lettuces better, and do minimal damage to the red. However, I rinse each leaf individually under running water, then give them a good soaking in the sink.
Even after the quick rinse, the first soaking brings out hidden dirt, slugs and pill bugs. Down the drain with them, and the lettuce goes into a second bath. If there is any residue in the sink, they have yet another bath. I'll not take any chances of having bugs or slugs in our salads!
I called my youngest son to beg him to come for lettuce. He wanted some of the butterhead, so I went out and picked one for him. Soon, when I get a new load of compost, this bed can get amended before any new seedlings go in. There's still half the bed of half-grown Romaine there, besides the six or so seedlings and two more mature Austrian Reds.
I love the Austrian Red Butterhead. It's much denser and heavier than the Red Sails. This head weighed a full pound (cleaned), while the four heads of Red Sails came in at a (cleaned) combined weight of 1 lb. 5 oz.
One entire shelf of the refrigerator is stuffed full of gallon bags and containers of lettuce.
Can you just guess what is going into this flat?
Another 58 seeds of....lettuce! Half Red Sails and half Summercrisp. I'm determined to keep it growing through the summer.
Granny can you say intervention?? Lettuce just gets so big. I always end up with way more then I expect!
ReplyDeleteIt's just so darn pretty though!!
LOL, Robin, it's almost as bad as tomatoes. Maybe worse. It's easier to toss extra lettuce into the compost than it is to toss tomato plants though. I always grow too much, but that's better than too little. I hate it when Mr. Granny heads for the store to buy those $5 containers of baby spring lettuce for Cookie every week. I definitely keep him filled up!
ReplyDeletePerfect timing! I just got in from pickmh my lettuce patch and I am alreadt thinking who I can make up bags of it for!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I plant 15 transplants at a time every three weeks. I get lettuce for about 10 months out of the year. In the heat of the summer I plant lettuce on the east side of my home in a flower bed. I have never had as much lettuce at one time as you have: and it's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAllison, surprisingly, this is only the second time the lettuce harvest has got ahead of me. There's more that has to be picked tomorrow, though. I might have to take some to the neighbors.
ReplyDeleteLynda, That's just from a small 3'x4' bed under the netting. I hate to tell you how much more I have. Of course, there are the six heads of Iceberg under the ladder. They refuse to head, so I've taken a ton of outer leaves and they need to be trimmed again. Then there's the whiskey barrel of seedlings, that have now grown so large it has turned into a cut and come again bed. I won't even mention the ones growing between the determinate tomatoes. Or the two still remaining in the kennel garden. Needless to say, I'll be meeting my oldest son as he leaves work tonight, and I'll be armed with a couple of bags of lettuce!
ReplyDeleteGoodness! Where's a troup of leaf miners when you need them to knock down your crop a bit.
ReplyDeleteYou're never goingto want to see lettue again!
Your lettuce problem is worse than my Asian green problem. At least you have a rabbit to feed that lettuce to. That's what I need. Some animal to eat my leftovers.
ReplyDeleteyou need more bunnies!
ReplyDeleteNO, NO, NO Ribbit! Do not mention the LM thing! I have enough problems with them without getting them in my lettuce!
ReplyDeleteI'm just going to have to start eating salad for breakfast. No biggy. ;-)
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Daphne, I wish I had that over abundance problem with everything else in my garden...other than the bugs, birds and slugs, of course.
I'll take that back when my 12 heads of cabbage all mature at the same time :-O
Erin, bite your tongue!
ReplyDeleteEverybody....Mr. Granny says we need to teach the dogs to eat lettuce. Maybe I could cook it like spinach and mix it with their chicken and green beans!
ReplyDeletei'm green with envy!=) i can't complain, though. we grow just enough for a salad every night, though i'm afraid the hot temps will soon put an end to that. 97 degrees here tomorrow, 100 on thursday!
ReplyDeleteGranny, adopt me and I will take some of the lettuce:) Looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteKelli, most of the lettuce is planted where it doesn't get hot afternoon sun, with a 6' fence to the north and west, and the shed to the south. I'm hoping I can keep it growing there all summer, even through the heat.
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Charmcity, fill out the papers ;-) But I'll make you grow a container garden on my patio!
Actually, I got rid of four one-gallon bags of lettuce, a gallon bag of broccoli and two of the larger sweet onions tonight. Two boys are eating well, now I need to round up the daughters! For the first night in a long time, we're not having lettuce salad tonight. We're having potato salad! I'm eating lettuce on my hamburger though.
I am thinking maybe next year you need to plant less lettuce and more potatoes...as well as less broccoli.
ReplyDeleteWon't happen Alison. Not with the lettuce. Heck, I harvested 42 pounds of it last year, I'm just at 26 pounds so far this year! Potatoes, yes...I didn't plant any at all this year!
ReplyDeleteIf we could step back in time, I would buy that house next to you so I could be your neighbor. Then I could happily help you out with your lettuce problem.
ReplyDeleteOh, Dianefaith, wouldn't that be great fun! I'd gladly share with you, and we would have iced tea on the patio when it gets hot.....and we'd reminisce. As much as I enjoy your writings, I'm sure I'd enjoy listening to your stories even more.
ReplyDeleteLast year I had an abundance of lettuce. I bought a juicer and started making green juices. Great way to use up extra greens from the garden. Romaine is best because its juicy, but you can through anything in there. I like a green lemonade, lots of romaine, some kale, spinach or chard and lemon and apple. Beet and carrots are good too. I don't like the boc choys for juice though. This year I tried to plan my garden better so I wouldn't have so much lettuce, but at the moment I really wish I had some romaine for the juicer!
ReplyDeleteThere's got to be a food bank in your town or somewhere regionally that takes food donations. If not a food bank, a homeless shelter, a domestic violence shelter, a soup kitchen, something.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a nearby nursing home or assisted living center? The residents might love some fresh lettuce. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI keep meaning to sow more lettuce to germinate in a shady spot, maybe this will motivate me. Oh no... wait. It will 90-something and humid the next couple of days. I will do nothing.
ReplyDeleteI harvested a bunch this morning since the heat is coming. I have some dogs that would enjoy your abundance, but it seems as though they are just plain weird in the dog world.
Your lettuce looks so pretty, I can see why you grow so much of it!
I am right there with you! It's a combination of lettuces and asian greens that have me swimming at the moment. It's a good problem to have though! Your lettuces are particularly nice looking - I bet your rabbit s really enjoying the bounty.
ReplyDeleteI just direct seeded a bunch of lettuces to follow on after this current crop, so I am doing just as you are and keeping my piles of greens coming as long as possible this year!
Us too! Finally we have more than enough lettuce and have been sharing it with the neighbor lady. Looks like you and the bunny have a lot of salad eating to do.:)
ReplyDeleteIf I were closer I'd help you out...if the kids don't come soon enough..take some to the shelter..they'd be glad to have it ...
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, Jennifer and Langela, the lettuce overflow is under control. All of the excess has gone to the two sons. Remember, I have four children that all live nearby. Three of them are always willing to take anything I care to give from the garden, the fourth doesn't care that much for fresh wholesome food preparation (bad Amy!) and only waits for fresh sweet peppers.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am truly overwhelmed with produce, which always happens during tomato season, I donate to a low income apartment complex in town. They have a sharing table in their lobby, and always happy recipients waiting.
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Kelly and Kitsap, last night I kept thinking about the slugs and birds that would attack any emerging seedlings, and that I need to take the folding table out to hold the flat off the ground. Then I need to cover it with netting. It sits in a shady area next to the shed, I hope I'm successful at keeping this lettuce glut going through the hot weather. Silly me, what hot weather?
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Mr. H., so far we haven't tired of those fresh salads. In fact, I didn't make one last night, and I missed it. They have become the main (best) part of my dinner lately.
I know how you feel also. Every year it's wait, wait, judiciously pick, pick, dround. Such is the way of the lettuce in the Pacific Northwet... hehe.
ReplyDeleteAh slugs, my nemesis. And I thought they only liked my brassicas... Makes me think I should do more than a quick rinse before making my salads. Ewww. Ah well, it's more protein...
It's all gone, Ginny, at least until it stops raining and I can go out and pick some more!
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Ewww, Sinfonian....wash that lettuce, wash and wash and wash! I'll take my protein in other forms ;-)
Wow, you are drowning in lettuce! I can't say I'm envious, lettuce isn't a must have, I'd rather have that much spinach instead! Your lettuce certainly looks great with a head and all. Mine, never forms a head, always clipping off leaves for a salad. What have you used to cover them? Thanks Granny, for the tip on tulle, I've used them with a fence, to ward off birds in my strawberry bed.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful lettuce I am jealous! Do you ever direct sow your lettuce or always start it in a flat and then transplant?
ReplyDeleteRandom, here is a link to the type of plastic fencing I use for everything....it's so handy for everything from temporary fences to bird protection to trellises:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/4ye6876
I buy it at Wal-Mart for about $12 for a 3'x50' roll.
Here is how I installed it over the lettuce bed:
http://tinyurl.com/3lfxnnp
I attached it permanently, with garden twine, over the hoops, but the ends are loose and held on with clothes pins for easy access.
I would worry about using the tulle over strawberries, as it would keep the bees out as well as the birds. I'd use bird netting or this plastic fencing instead, then the bees could still get to the blossoms. I'm not sure if strawberries have to be pollinated by bees, but I know I get tiny misshapen berries when they're not properly pollinated.
Vanessa, I usually have a bed of directly (and thickly) sown lettuce seed somewhere in the garden, where I can use the cut-and-come-again method of harvesting it. Right now I have a half-barrel that is bursting at the seems, needing to be cut! I do like to have some seedlings growing to replace the heads I pull though. I sow the cutting lettuce by putting the seeds in a spice jar with a shaker top, and just sprinkle the seeds over the surface then lightly press them in with the back side of the rake tines or, in small areas, with my hand. Here is a photo that shows just how thickly they are planted:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/3cnwn4d
Some were removed and transplanted into the other lettuce bed, but they are still really close together.
Granny - I am so jealous. I planted two borders of red lettuce, with dreams of a beautiful red edible edging. Instead, something is just chomping away on the lettuce (and the kale). So no lettuce for me at all! I wish I was close enough to get some.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I'm losing a lot of my lettuce to slugs. They don't seem to bother the red leaf as much as the green, but even the red has quite a few outer leaves that have to go into the compost bin. I'm going to start putting coffee grounds around them to see if that keeps the slugs off.
ReplyDeleteI give up! I'm just going to let all the lettuce go to seed. I planted too much but I should have a good supply of lettuce seed.
ReplyDeleteHappyskunk, my problem is planting too much all at once. I just can't seem to understand the concept of a half dozen plants started each week. Nooooo. It has to be fifty plants all at once. Just what a family of two (and a rabbit) needs ;-)
ReplyDeleteGood grief look at all of that lettuce! At least it's pretty out there, even if you don't get a chance to eat it! You could get some turtles... mine seem to love the chance to get some nice lettuce... :)
ReplyDeleteMegan, ship a couple of those eggs over to me, OK? I promise to keep them right side up ;-)
ReplyDeleteRight away Granny! :) It'll be years before they'll eat anything but bugs though, can you handle that? :) I'll make sure to put a HUGE this side up arrow on them.
ReplyDeleteMegan, if they eat slugs! On the other hand, I'm pushing 73 now. I might be too old to be raising a new "family".
ReplyDeleteOut of all the spinach seeds I planted..only one head or plant came up. And then on top of that..the bugs got to them. I was able to salvage some, but I was admittedly kind of dissapointed. I guess there's no rhyme or reason to gardening.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't about lettuce, but I thought I might be able to add my two cents..spinach is in the lettuce family right?
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Ha ha! Yep, just like your tomato obsession! I just sent 3 bags to a friend, and have a drawer completely full in the fridge with more in the garden. I figure, skip the bowls and bags, just clean out a whole drawer for it! My children asked last night if we are going to have salads every night with dinner, this is unusual for us! Ha ha! Funny kids! Good thing they like lettuce, but I might wear them out!
ReplyDeleteShawn Ann, I've actually stooped to searching for recipes for lettuce soup! There actually is such a thing, by Emeril Lagassi, and it has very high ratings. I might just have to try it!
ReplyDeleteHahaha, how do you eat all that lettuce?
ReplyDeleteMeems, from a very big salad bowl nearly every night! We actually love it with a hot bacon dressing, and we've cut our meat and potato consumption in half with those big salads. That's a good thing!
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