When and how to harvest
Time from planting to harvest is
about 80 days from transplants and
120 days or more from seed. A
10-foot double row should give
you about 20 leeks. Around
midsummer, start removing the
top half of the leaves. This will
encourage greater growth of the
leek stalk. Pull the leeks as you
need them, but harvest them all
before frost.
w i t h small, yellowish flowers on the stalk. The lettuce most
c o m m o n l y f o u n d in supermarkets (iceberg or head lettuce) is the most difficult to grow in the home vegetable garden. Butterhead and bibb lettuces, w h i c h are often so extravagantly expensive in the store, are easier to grow.
Butterhead lettuces have loose heads and delicate crunchy leaves.
Stem lettuce (celtuce) might f o o l you into t h i n k i n g you're eating hearts of palm and makes a crunchy addition to a salad.
Celtuce is grown in the same way as lettuce, except that you want celtuce to bolt or go to seed, because you're going to harvest the thickened stem. You use the leaves of celtuce as you w o u l d regular lettuce; the heart of the stem is used like celery. Cos or romaine lettuce forms a loose, long head and is part way between a butterhead and leaf lettuce in flavor. Leaf lettuce is
delightfully easy to grow, grows fast, and provides bulk and color to salads.
Leaf lettuce and butterhead lettuce make attractive borders or accents in a flower garden, and either kind can be grown singly in a four-inch pot or in a w i n d o w box. W i t h a little planning you can grow an entire salad garden in containers on a balcony or terrace.
Historically, King Nebuchad-nezzar grew lettuce in his gardens in ancient Babylon. The Romans used lettuce as a sedative.
Where and when to grow Lettuce is a cool-season crop, usually grown f r o m seed planted in the garden four to six weeks before your average date of last frost. Long, hot summer days w i l l make the plants bolt, or go to seed; w h e n this happens the plant sends up a flower stalk and
becomes useless as a vegetable.
If your area has a short, hot g r o w i n g season, start head lettuce f r o m seed indoors eight to 10 weeks before your average date of last frost and transplant it as soon as possible so that the plants will mature before the weather gets really hot. Sow succession crops, beginning in midsummer. In a mild-winter climate, g r o w spring, fall, and winter crops.
How to plant
Lettuce needs w e l l - w o r k e d soil w i t h good drainage and moisture retention. W h e n you're
preparing the soil, dig in a complete, well-balanced
fertilizer at the rate of one p o u n d per 100 square feet or 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Start transplants f r o m seed eight to 10 weeks before your average date of last frost. If you are
direct-seeding lettuce in the garden, sow seeds a quarter inch deep in w i d e rows, and w h e n the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin leaf lettuce to stand six to eight inches apart and head lettuce 12 inches apart. Thinning is
i m p o r t a n t ; heading lettuce w o n ' t head, and all lettuce may bolt if the plants are c r o w d e d . Transplant the thinnings.
Fertilizing and watering Give the entire garden a
midseason application of fertilizer.
Your successive crops of lettuce will benefit f r o m it, even t h o u g h you will already have harvested an early c r o p . Detailed
information on fertilizing is given in " S p a d e w o r k : The Essential S o i l " in P a r t i .
Always keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy, and d o n ' t let the shallow-rooted lettuce plants dry out. Heading lettuce
needs careful watering w h e n the head is f o r m i n g . Try not to splash m u d d y water on the lettuce plants — the cleaner they are, the easier they are to
prepare for eating. Use a light mulch of straw or hay to keep soil off the leaves.
Pests
C u t w o r m s , slugs, and snails can be troublesome. You may also have to deal w i t h aphids. Put a collar around each plant to discourage cutworms, and trap slugs and snails w i t h a saucer of
stale beer set flush to the soil. To control aphids, pinch out infested foliage, or hose the aphids off the plants. Control aphids chemically w i t h Malathion or Diazinon, taking care to spray the undersides of the leaves.
Detailed information on pest control is given in "Keeping Your Garden Healthy" in Part 1.
Diseases
Lettuce has no serious disease problems.
When and how to harvest
As the lettuce grows, either pick the outer leaves and let the inner leaves develop, or harvest the w h o l e plant at once by cutting it off at g r o u n d level. Try to harvest w h e n the weather is c o o l ; in the heat of the day the leaves may be l i m p . Chilling will crisp up the leaves again.
storing and preserving D o n ' t harvest lettuce until you're ready to use it. It can be stored for up to t w o weeks in the refrigerator, and everyone has a favorite way of keeping it crisp.
Some suggest washing the lettuce first, then w r a p p i n g it in a cotton or linen towel and keeping it in the refrigerator. Others suggest storing the w h o l e lettuce in a plastic bag. You can't freeze, dry, or can lettuce, but you can sprout lettuce seeds. If you've got lots, share your bounty w i t h friends. Detailed information on short-term storage is given in Part 3.
Serving suggestions
Yes, salads, of course — but
there are other ways to serve lettuce. Braise it in butter w i t h seasoning to taste — the French use n u t m e g . Make a w i l t e d salad or cream of lettuce soup, or stir-fry it w i t h mushrooms and onions.
Cook peas and shredded lettuce together in a little butter — t h r o w in the lettuce just before you take the peas off the heat. Use several varieties of lettuce
together for an interesting combination of shades and textures. Serve a very plain salad — a few leaves of lettuce dressed w i t h oil and a good w i n e vinegar — to cleanse the palate between courses of a fancy dinner.
Common name: m u s h r o o m Botanical name: Agaricus
species
Origin: M u s h r o o m s are f o u n d all over the w o r l d .
Varieties
A l t h o u g h there are many varieties of edible mushrooms, only a few are available for home p r o d u c t i o n ; grow the varieties that are available commercially.
Description
M u s h r o o m s are the f r u i t i n g bodies of a fungus organism, and there are between 60,000 and 100,000 species of fungus that produce mushrooms. Because many mushrooms are poisonous, and it's extremely difficult to tell the edible variety f r o m the poisonous k i n d , gathering w i l d mushrooms to eat is a very risky pastime. There are, however, many good books on the market that w i l l help you recognize some of the 50 or more edible varieties that grow w i l d in the United States; so if you do want to go m u s h r o o m - h u n t i n g , do a little h o m e w o r k first. You can also g r o w mushrooms at home
f r o m prepared trays, kits, and spawn that are available commercially t h r o u g h seed catalog companies and garden suppliers. It's not t o o difficult, and it can be b o t h productive and f u n .
Where and when to grow Because you're growing them indoors, the type of climate you live in is a matter of indifference to your mushrooms. You can also grow t h e m at any time of the year, but the trays or kits are usually available commercially only f r o m October t h r o u g h A p r i l .
How to plant
M u s h r o o m s grow best in a dark, h u m i d , cool area. In most homes the best places are the basement and the cabinet under the kitchen sink. A little light w o n ' t hurt the mushrooms, but they do need high humidity — 80 to 85 percent — and a cool temperature —55° to 60°F.