Chris and Steve's Weblog - City Chickens » lettuce

Strawberries, Salad and New Potatoes

Chris — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:36:48 +0000

Once again I have brought home a large bowl of strawberries and a couple of massive butterhead lettuces. I also managed to get enough potatoes Sharps Express for a meal tonight. The potatoes have been slow to grow as we had a cold start to the season followed by a very long dry period. The tops are looking green, lush and healthy but few potatoes up to now which is bad news in one way but good news for my belly because I can’t resist freshly dug potatoes.

Lettuce Eat

Chris — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:01:10 +0000

We had a massive thunder storm yesterday with torrential rain and so the plot got a really good soaking. I went down this morning for a couple of hours and put in some plants and did a bit of weeding and tying up. Everything is growing well now and we have brought home quite a few of the salad leaves and butterhead lettuce.

The potatoes are looking good too with quite a few flowers appearing. I couldn’t wait and had to have a little feel around in the bags and bring home a small harvest of Sharps Express to put on our lamb chop dinner tonight. Jim gave us a lovely cabbage from his plot so that will also go on the plate tonight.

Whilst I was weeding in the brassica tunnel I noticed small curds forming on the cauliflower plants so it wont be long before we shall be eating them.

The warm wet weather is perfect for growing and it is very satisfying to see everything coming on so well.

Butterhead Lettuce –

Chris — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:59:57 +0000

Rob has popped to the plot to do a few jobs and has planted ten butterhead lettuce in the brassica tunnel. He will be working on the new brassica cage, getting it ready for planting and covering the whole thing with green netting to keep the birds off.

Lettuce Delicato

Chris — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:59:55 +0000

Yesterday was a lovely warm day but as Rob had to work a double shift he wasn’t home until 7.45pm. We went straight down to the plots when he got back and spent a nice hour watering the plants that are under cover and the seedlings then planting more pumpkins, five Cauliflower Moby Dick, five Cabbage Kilaton F1 and twenty five Lettuce Delicato. We brought home a bag of salad leaf and a few globe raddish to go with our very late evening meal.

Sowing Swede, Parsnips, Cucumber and Salad

Chris — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:32:30 +0000

We have taken the Cucumber plant, Carmen, and installed it in the lean to. It is surrounded by a fleece to protect it until it gets established.

The first of the Tomato plants is also in there. It is a Black Cherry, one of our favourites from last year.

After getting the ground to a fine tilth with the rotavator Rob sowed the Swede seeds, Champion Purple Top and Parsnips, Hollow Crown.

We fished out the tent greenhouse which was virtually destroyed last year by gale force winds. Rob managed to get it back into shape and we planted some crisphead lettuce plants and sowed Raddish, French Breakfast and Spring Onion, Lisbon. We have secured it well and hope that it will be safe this year as it also has the protection of the tunnel at the side of it too.

All the beds are now clear of weeds and both plots are looking good. Weeding is an ongoing task but we have definitely broken the back of it now.

European Butterhead Lettuce and Mixed Salad Leaf

Chris — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:35:18 +0000

Rob has sown a row of mixed salad leaf directly into a small bed down on plot 8 and today I have sown 24 seeds of a European Butterhead lettuce in modules at home. I haven’t had much luck starting lettuce this way before but have tried a cheap propagator tray with a plastic lid but stood it outside as before I have tried in the house and I think it may have been too warm for lettuce seed to germinate.

Brilliant – The Sprouts Are In

Chris — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:55:28 +0000

This afternoon we planted the brussell sprouts, Brilliant, now we need a bit of gentle rain to water them in. Rob fixed up the cage we built for them last year and it looks fit to face the winter now.

We emptied out one of the potato bags, Rocket I think, and half of them are bubbling away in the saucepan now.

The strawberries have exeeded all expectations, we have eaten them, given them away, frozen them and made jam and there are still loads left to pick.

Yesterday I cut a lettuce, a butterhead, my favourite, it was the best we have grown so far.

Runner Bean Kelvedon Stringless

Chris — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:24:56 +0000

I put twelve of these seeds in a 7″ pot and into a polythene bag to germinate. I have also sown a few more lettuce seeds. Little Gem, Lollo Rosso and Raddichio. The first sowing of peas I put in at home need planting out now so we intend to do that this afternoon, weather permitting. We are putting them around the inside of the old brassica cage. The peas sown direct by Rob have begun to shoot now. The potatoes planted in pots in the lean to are doing well but we shall need to move them outside soon as the space will be needed for the cucumbers and tomatoes. The melons sown at home that have survived are going very leggy and leaning over so the sooner they can go into their permanent bed the better.