Growing Salad Greens

You know, I’ve been gardening for years, but every year there is at least one thing that makes me feel like a complete novice. This year it’s lettuce. I had no idea how good homegrown lettuce could be or how easily it grew here.

I know people said it was easy to grow, but every time I tried, the slugs and bugs got to it before I could enjoy it. And to be honest I never tried that hard because I was never a big fan of lettuce, and why grow something you’re not going to eat anyway, right? Of course now I know why I’ve never been a big fan of lettuce, because, like many veggies, store-bought lettuce can be tasteless and BORING.

This year when Greg built the Earthboxes, or grow boxes, Lily and I planted some arugula, spinach and lettuce seeds, using seeds from Uprising Seeds in Bellingham, WA. I also planted a few French Crisp lettuce starts, also from Uprising Seeds.

Well, the seeds went crazy, and the starts loved their spot under the pea tepee. And we’ve been having fresh salads three to four times a week for over a month now. Delicious salads with simple, minimal dressings. Our favorite is a lemon vinaigrette: mix 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice with 1 minced garlic clove; whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of sugar. Yum! It goes perfectly with the arugula. Lily likes to pick the leaves and eat them too, especially the arugula which she calls “picy” for spicy. And she's a pro at watering them!