I just love seeing things grow, that’s why I haven’t picked any leaves off the lettuce I transplanted and brought in the house back in late October.
Here is one of the three trays I planted. I gave one to my mother-in-law.
Some of the leaves have gotten pretty big.
This was a lettuce mix I got at Jewel Foods and there are a few different varieties. There’s the one above, which seems to be the fastest grower and these…
I’m also, as an experiment, trying to over-winter the herbs.
parsley…
sage…
rosemary…
and thyme…
Nah. I didn’t really grow thyme, but it would have been musical. Remember that Simon & Garfunkle song?
“Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme”
I did grow parsley, sage, rosemary and chives, though, and that has a musical ring to it.
The sage and the parsley look a little droopy, and you can see I haven’t even properly potted two of them. My goal is to keep the roots going even if the top growth suffers. I want to see if they’ll perk up when they get back outside in the ground.
I took cuttings from the rosemary and sage (they’re too sad looking for pictures right now). If they root I’ll post pics later.
I even broke down and bought a package of that expensive pre-packaged organic mint from Jewel Foods because I learned of the joy of Mojitos.
My Mojito didn’t look quite as pretty as the photo, but it tasted pretty good.
**caution – excessive consumption of Mojitos can lead to prolonged feelings of euphoria.
Just as another experiment, I’m trying to root some of the stems.
In the summer I’ll just use some of the runners from my neighbor’s yard that find their way onto my side of the fence. Free plants…always a good thing.
Happy Gardening!!!
Cheryl's Garden Goodies 
engineeredgarden said,
December 12, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Cheryl – that lettuce looks yummy! I pulled all of mine from the garden weeks ago, and now I wish that I still had some. I’m thinking about growing some in clear totes, so I can easily cover them when it’s extremely cold.
EG
gardengoodies said,
December 12, 2008 at 9:35 pm
EG-Go for it. If they can get real light instead of flouresent bulbs, I know they’ll do fine.
We had a wind chill of 1 and winter hasn’t even officially started. Brrrrrrr!!
p.s. – Your seeds go out tomorrow. Every time I think I’m ready to send them, I can’t find one thing…an envelope, a stamp, your envelope with the return address.
engineeredgarden said,
December 12, 2008 at 11:57 pm
That’s ok, Cheryl. I know you’ll send them.
Yeah, concerning the lettuce….i’m really gonna try to get a large clear tote the next time i’m in Lowes, and grow some lettuce and spinach in it. I may even plant some in my hanging deck rail planters….at least they are mobile.
EG
gardengoodies said,
December 13, 2008 at 1:36 am
You could even try growing a few seeds in a window. It seems like the roots don’t need too much room to grow.
Annie's Granny said,
December 13, 2008 at 12:04 pm
My greens are not looking so good. They are still outside, and haven’t had to put up with temps lower than 36F so far, but they sure don’t grow very fast. You’d think with day temps in the high 60s to mid 70s, with a southern exposure next to a white wall, that they would really grow nicely…but NOT. I even give them Miracle Grow and have them in a potting soil/compost blend. It’s frustrating, as I don’t have these problems with my northern garden.
gardengoodies said,
December 13, 2008 at 10:33 pm
It’s funny. When these were outside they didn’t grow much either. Once they started growing inside, they kind of shot up. Go figure.
Bettyinga said,
December 14, 2008 at 9:14 am
I like the idea of growing lettuce in a clear tote. I really miss having fresh lettuce.
gardengoodies said,
December 14, 2008 at 9:33 am
It’s way too cold here to grow anything outside, not even in a tote. If you guys decide to try it, I’d like to know how it works.
David LaFerney said,
December 16, 2008 at 10:08 am
Cheryl, for a long time I thought that you had to just cut down the whole lettuce plant to get enough for a salad, but then I discovered that if you pick the leaves from the outside of the plant it just keeps on growing like nothing’s happened. I’ve found that I can pick a family sized salad every 3-4 days from just 6 plants once they’re going.
Be careful with that mint – I love it, but it can become invasive. Of course if it does you can probably thin it back out in a few hours with a few friends, a blender and a bottle of rum.
gardengoodies said,
December 16, 2008 at 12:48 pm
David-When I finally picked the lettuce leaves from those two trays in the basement, I had two full gallon bags of lettuce. And when I checked on them this morning, they’re big enough to be picked again. I wish I had taken a picture the day I picked them to compare them to today.
This year I’m actually looking forward to my neighbor’s mint creeping on over into my yard. Mojito time!!!