Salad Trays Part 2

The first tiny lettuce seedlings are emerging.  Yay!  The carrots and pak choy will take a few more days.

Pilch 92 commented "You kept it going a long time. Our lettuce bolted when it got really hot over the summer."   Yeah, they lasted from Spring.  I'm pretty sure that's because I cut a whole head an 1" above ground level each time, so the whole plant grows back, and that delays bolting.  

"Cut&come again" is a really great way to keep harvesting loose-leaf lettuce.  Since the plant has an established root system, it regrows leaves very quickly.  And I use an organic slow-release fertilizer at initial planting so the roots stay fed for months.  I don't think that would work for iceberg lettuce, but I don't grow that.

With 2 trays of green lettuce and 1 of red, and 12 plants per tray, I always have enough for the base of a salad (I add plenty of other raw veggies to fill a bowl).  

It doesn't look like this again yet...

But it will in about a month!  At which time I will have to bring them inside for Winter (under lights).  And I have LED light fixtures to install, so it won't cost much.

BTW, lettuce seeds cost only about $3 per packet and if you keep them in the fridge, they last several years.  The 2' trays are cheap enough.  Not that I've ever tried to keep track carefully, my best guesstimate is that I pay about 15 cents per pound of fresh clean lettuce.  $2 per pound at the grocery store.

The celery and pak choy is harder to guess and the savings.  I just get leaves of both.  Which is all I want from them.  Celery leaves are tasty and a bit spicy.  Pak choy leaves are just for my shrimp rolls but the leafiest ones at the store are "baby" and cost $5 per pound.  

But mostly, I love just being able to walk out on the deck at dinnertime and harvest fresh stuff easy and cheap!