Woo-Hoo! I’m having Backyard Salad

November 16, 2009

Backyard salad isn’t completely accurate. My salad is actually in my front yard. I’m experimenting with a small lettuce patch to see if there is enough sun in this spot to make veggies grow. This little patch of dirt is right next to my driveway. I built up a small bed and filled it with good dirt, although I didn’t have any compost. Butter-crunch lettuce, Romaine and Red Leaf lettuce is planted there. It was a little late in the season when I stuck it in the ground, but decided to risk it anyway. With my huge $14.00 investment, I figured there was nothing to lose. I water it sort of regularly and feed it Miracle Grow in place of the compost. And, I hope for the best.

Parley is  in a small concrete pot, and I planted one spinach plant in the lettuce bed, just to see what happens. So far, the spinach is pretty sad. The parsley, however, is sprightly, and the lettuce is bright green and healthy looking. Every day I go out and sweep the leaves away from the base of each plant. I am amazed at how delicate the leaves are. They are sweet and fragile. Those little plants make me smile each day as I am getting in the car to head out for work.

I am praying that the first frost doesn’t come for quite some time, at least not until I can harvest at least one dinner salad from my little plot. I was afraid the rabbits would come and nibble, enjoying my salad before I had a chance to taste it, but so far this hasn’t happened. I did spread Cayenne pepper around the bed to keep those little furry guys away, but I really think I’ve just been lucky. Today I went to the grocery and bought Romaine and Red Leaf lettuce. I hated doing that, knowing that oh, so soon, I could have my own fresh lettuce! If the cold weather holds off, we may be enjoying a very fresh and very local salad at Thanksgiving. I love this.

Filed under: Eating Well,Eco Around the House,Healthy Living,Uncategorized

Tags: Gardening, Local Food, Seasonal Eating