Super Salads

Here is a great informational page on lettuce.

There are four basic types of lettuce commonly available today:

	Crisphead lettuce (the iceberg found in grocery stores) forms a tight head under the appropriate conditions and very crisp leaves. Batavia or Batavian is a crisphead developed in France that is curlier and less crunchy.
	Butterhead or bibb lettuces produce loose, gently folded heads with delicate leaves.
	Romaine or cos (after the Greek island of Kos in the Aegean Sea) types form a long, loose head with broad, upright leaves.
	Leaf types do not form a head, but stay as an open rosette. The leaves may be rounded or elongated, lobed or with straight margins, and flat or curled. Individual leaves can be cut off as needed without harvesting the entire plant. These vary in texture from soft to crisp and run the gamut from pale green to dark red. They are sometimes called "cutting", "bunching," or "curled" lettuce.

Spinach and more!

This site has some great information specific to Wisconsin. Mary Fran had a question about spinach.  Maybe she can discover a little help on this page. In addition, it can serve as a remind that spinach can be planted again about mid August for a fall crop.  It is a cool weather loving creature!

From The Wisconsin Master Gardener Program

Planting

Plant spinach from seed when conditions are suitable. Spinach seed does not remain viable for very long, so purchase seed packaged for the current year. You may be able to keep spinach seed under optimal storage conditions for a couple of years, but germination rates will probably be much lower.

Spinach is a cool-season crop that should be planted in early spring, about 4 weeks before your area’s average date of last frost. Ideal spinach weather is 50 to 60°F. Spinach does best in well-drained soil rich in organic matter, and will tolerate partial shade. Plant seeds 1-4 inches apart and about ½ inch deep. If you use the closer spacing, thin when the leaves touch, when the plants are about 2" tall, using the tender leaves for salad greens.

Make sequential plantings about 2 weeks apart to continue harvesting spinach through the summer. Choose bolt-resistant varieties for later plantings. But even slow bolting types will not remain vegetative for very long, so each planting’s productive time will be short. Leaf quality declines when the reproductive cycle begins with seed-stalk formation.

A fall crop often tastes better than the spring crop because the temperature cycle of warm to cool weather is more predictable. Plant the fall crop in mid-August for a late-September (or later) harvest. Extend the season by covering the plants during really cold nights or grow in a cold frame. I have been able to harvest spinach in late December many years after growing the plants in a temporary cold frame (created from a curved glass pane and board ends set on my raised bed) when the fall weather has not been extremely cold.

You can also try a "winter" crop, planted in late September, that will grow a little before going dormant for the winter. Alternatively, just cut off the leaves of the plants of your fall crop, leaving the roots and growing point intact. These plants may overwinter to grow a new crop of leaves in the spring. In colder areas or severe winters, covering the plants with mulch may enhance their survival. Some varieties, such as ‘Bloomsdale Longstanding’, are hardier than others, and are more likely to survive the winter.

Today's salad.....

Today's salad included some lovely lettuces harvested from the garden along with nasturtium petals and borage flowers.  Delicious and beautiful!

The top stems of the borage flowers slip right out.  I think they have a slightly sweet taste.  The nasturtium flowers and leaves have a slightly peppery flavor. They both sure add some lovely color to the salad!

July in the Gardens

Check out what the UW Extension Master Gardener program suggests for work in the garden this month of July.  The cool weather has an affect on how things are growing!
There's a lot of information here, but some helpful hints for things we are growing in our organic gardens.

Nasturtiums

JUNE draws to a close: Herbs planted in four beds!

I've enjoyed being a part of the Community Garden at the Y since it first began.  I live in a townhouse now and have no space to garden except in containers which does work!

Herbs were donated to our garden and they were beautiful plants!  All of the herbs except the celery were planted on Friday, June 24.  I'm trying to remember what is there at this point and I'll check more carefully on a another day, hopefully even drawing out what is where in case tags get lost.  Currently I did leave the plastic tags by the plants. 
  

Nasturtiums are planted near the mailbox.  The leaves and flowers are edible and make your salad look beautiful!
Summer savory is planted in  an 'x' shape in the bed with marjoram and oregano in the sides.  Chives are to the back and thyme is planted along both sides. I haven't used summer savory before so we'll have to explore that one. 
Summer Savory in the Herb Garden




I am not sure what is to the left of the daisies.  Does anyone know?  It might be summer savory?
That is borage with the purple flowers.  I froze the edible flowers in ice cubes once :) The flowers are beautiful in salads and the young leaves are good for salads as well but the prickly plant just doesn't make me want to throw those young leaves in!  
The plant is great for attracting bees to the garden so we need them!   Here is some information about borage.
All About Borage at Homestead and Gardens

This bed also has some dill plants in the middle and two rhubarb plants someone put in last fall I think it was.
How to grow and use dill.


This bed has a lot of basil.  It doesn't winter over but will be great to use fresh or dry it and save for winter.  Basil was also put in the other beds here and there because there was so much of it.  That's great!  It's a more commonly used herb.
The best way to keep fresh basil.
10 Delicious ways to use basil in the kitchen.  Yum!  Look at that caprese salad!

You'll also find two kinds of fennel. 
How to chop fennel.
How to use fennel at home.


The bed behind the mailbox one is where the garlic chives were planted along with more basil and space for the celery to go wild! 

So... what are we missing.... sage? mints take over but are nice to have....?  We can keep that in mind and maybe add to things next year.

At any rate, what a great bunch of herbs to get us going!  They were beautiful plants.  Feel free to send some water their way when you're in the garden if you see they could use it.

Also feel free to comment, add tips etc. to this blog.
Just a little experiment to help us learn and keep in touch.