If, when you think of lettuce, you think of iceberg, you don’t know beans about lettuce. There is romaine lettuce that is typically used in Caesar salad; numerous butterheads such as Boston, bibb, and buttercrunch; and the leaf lettuces such as oakleaf, or red, green and bicolor loose-leaf. The leaf lettuces are especially easy to grow and, therefore, are good choices for beginning gardeners as well as the experienced gardener. They can even be grown in very small spaces such as window boxes and will last throughout the entire growing season.
Romaine and leaf lettuces are better sources of calcium and vitamin A than iceberg and the butterhead variety are better sources of calcium. However, the iceberg type lasts longer after cutting, thus its popularity in stores.
You can start lettuce plants indoors and transplant the young plants outside, but lettuce can be started in the garden four weeks before your last average frost date and is generally a quick grower so most gardeners don’t bother with transplants. It’s a good idea to start a few seeds every two or three weeks so you have a continual supply. Lettuce needs lots of moisture at first to get a good start and prevent bitterness.
A sunny to partially shady location is good. Especially if your weather is hot, lettuce will appreciate some shade from the hot afternoon sun.
Lettuce is a surprisingly heavy feeder and does best with a monthly high nitrogen and potassium fertilizer or an every two week application of fish emulsion. Calcium is important for heading lettuce so you may want to work some bonemeal into your soil also.
Lettuces are not prone to a lot of diseases, but slugs, cutworms, cabbage loopers and various caterpillars can destroy your crop. Most of these pests can be hand picked from the plants. Parasitic nematodes or BTK (bacillus thuringiensis) will help fight these pests. Deer, rabbits and other wildlife will also compete with you for this crop.
You can cut off the entire head of the plant at harvest or you can take just a few outer leaves of each plant as you need them and your plants will continue to produce for much of the season.
| 2/3 cup cottage cheese | 6 cups torn lettuce leaves |
| 1/2 cup plain yogurt | 1 grated carrot |
| 4 green onions sliced thin | 4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese |
| 1/4 cup mayonnaise | 4 hard boiled eggs |
| 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar | 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen) |
| 1 tsp. Dijon mustard | 4 slices crispy bacon, crumbled |
| salt and pepper to taste | salt and pepper to taste |
Combine cottage cheese, yogurt, half of the green onions, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper. Process in blender until pureed.
In another bowl, combine lettuce, carrot, and rest of green onions.
Place half of lettuce mixture in bottom of 2 quart dish. Sprinkle half of cheese over lettuce. Then make a layer of egg slices and then a layer of peas. Now add remaining lettuce mixture, then crumbled bacon and remaining cheese. Spoon cottage cheese mixture over top and finally arrange tomato halves over salad. Cover and refrigerate for an hour before serving.
| 1 cup green leaf lettuce | 1 teaspoon minced garlic |
| 1 cup red leaf lettuce | 1 tsp. lemon juice |
| 1 cup oak leaf lettuce | 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard |
| 2 tablespoons buttermilk | 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds |
Combine all ingredients except lettuce. Blend them together well. Mix all three lettuce’s and place on two plates. Spoon dressing over greens.
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