Fall is a fine time to plant vegetables such as lettuce
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If you plant lettuce now and properly tend it during the fall, you can have it fresh from the garden for your Christmas dinner. -
Don't be afraid to use lettuce in containers at the end of the year. Red Sails is both beautiful and tasty.
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As the tomatoes start to dwindle after the best season in years, it's not time to quit gardening yet. In fact, September is one of the most important months for the vegetable garden.
As the heat of summer dissipates, it's time to get cool-weather crops planted. They can last well into fall and some will even stay around until next spring.
Lettuce is the first choice in my garden. Seeds planted in good soil, amended with compost, will reap benefits for months. Prepare the bed with organic matter such as compost or well-aged animal manure. Sprinkle fresh seed onto the newly turned soil and lightly rake it in. Soak the new bed with water and don't let it dry out until the lettuce germinates.
No matter how hard I try to space the small seed, the seedlings always need to be thinned. Luckily, those tender seedlings are heaven in a salad. I don't plant in rows; I just scatter the seed to make a carpet of greens that thrive in the cool fall weather.
Leaf lettuce and butterhead types are quick growing -- I like the old standby 'Black Seeded Simpson' and its cousin, 'Simpson Elite.' But there are other interesting varieties offering a cornucopia of shapes and colors.
Sometimes, my choices are determined by what seed I can find, and if I'm lucky enough to stumble onto plants at a nursery, I'll plant them for a jump start on the season. 'Amish Deer Tongue' is tender and I guess looks like a deer tongue. It's one of my favorites. 'Flame' and 'Red Sails' add wonderful texture and color to the garden.
Another fun thing to do is buy a packet of mixed lettuce seed. You'll end up with a rainbow of colors and flavors.
Lettuce is a great plant for containers and not just for eating. Red, spotted and curled leaves are beautiful in pots alongside flowers in the garden. One advantage of containers is they can be moved to a protected area as temperatures drop. A sun porch would offer enough light and warmth to keep the plants thriving until January.
Leaf lettuce is amazingly hardy, withstanding freezing temperatures. Every year in October, I break out the floating row covers to keep the plants growing into winter. They are inexpensive lightweight fabric that protects lettuce and other crops from very cold temperatures. Last year, I picked some 'Black Seeded Simpson' on Christmas Eve to include in our family's Feast of Seven Fishes.
First Published September 9, 2010 12:00 am
