This year, I planted “Black Seeded Simpson” leaf lettuce and wasn’t all that impressed. It wasn’t bad, but it was the only thing in the garden that I didn’t look forward to harvesting more of after I took the first bunch. The spinach also was a disappointment, but only because it all didn’t come up. Next year I think I will skip the leaf lettuce and just plant more romaine and spinach, or choose a red variety of lettuce.

I think there is going to be a battle between the squash and the broccoli. The broccoli plants are mature and encroaching on the space around them, and the squash is starting to do what it does, and that is spread. The tomato plants are growing by what seems to be inches every day. The daily romaine and lettuce salads with peas and broccoli are quite rewarding and a reminder of just how easy it is. They also help keep me motivated to go out and keep the weeds at bay.

Here are the pictures that I couldn’t take yesterday.

Broccoli, radishes, and romaine.

Peas

Broccoli and Radish

Lettuce, Broccoli, and Peas

This evening I transplanted my tomato seedlings into larger containers, and was hoping to do the same with my peppers but I ran out of supplies. Once they’ve had a few days to settle in, I am going to begin hardening them by taking them outdoors in the evening at first, and then progressing to putting them in a shady spot in the morning to sit all day. Once they make it through that, I will leave them in the sun and only take them in at night when the temp dips down. It sounds like a little bit of work, but I didn’t do this much with the broccoli which led to its demise. Oh, and I am doing the quick version of this now with the lettuce and romaine I will be planting this week as well.

After I planted the lettuce and broccoli seedlings, we received a small bit of frost. Lost most of the broccoli, but all of the lettuce and romaine turned out fine. Since the frost occurred a day after I planted them and then we had sunny days,  I am wondering if I didn’t harden them enough and the sun may have finished the job. Either way, that’s what the garden stores are for. I picked up a tray of nine seedlings, which was plenty, and stuck six of them in the ground. They look a lot better than the ones I had anyway.

I planted the leaf lettuce, romaine, and broccoli seedlings, but didn’t season them well so I worry that they may not make it. The broccoli plants looked a little off anyway, so I think I need to lower my expectations.

I didn’t have much time today, so I just started the leaf lettuce and romaine for this week, and played around with the irrigation system. I was trying to determine the least amount of pipe needed, the best way to secure it, and the best way to hide the supply hose. I should be able to post some more pictures tomorrow.

A little more than a week ago, I started leaf lettuce, romaine, and bell peppers and thought I could remember in which containers I put each one. After the shuffle to get them under the grow light, I lost track of which group is the leaf lettuce and which one is the romaine (the pepper had already been separated). One is lighter in color than the other, and if I had to guess the romaine might be the darker one, but how to tell? It really only matters because the spacing is a little different for the types I have. Rookie mistake.

Start leaf lettuce indoors this week.

Plant leaf lettuce starts in the garden this week.