Endless summer salad

Endless summer salad. Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Well, you can have endless summer salad, right in your own back yard (or back deck, to be more accurate!) No more romaine hearts in bags of three from the grocery store; no more spinach in bulk that wilts long before you've used it all. Who even knows what kind of pesticides that was even sprayed with! No more Farmer's Market to get my fresh salad greens either. This summer, I'm growing my own greens on my deck! Think you need a green thumb to do it? Think again. My thumb's anything but, and if it wasn't easy and low maintenance, I wouldn't be doing it. 

So here's how it works. Almost every garden center has a variety of different types of lettuce plants. Mine came from a local center just outside the city, but supermarkets usually carry them too. All you have to do is select the varieties of lettuce plants you would like. For example, I have three varieties of lettuce: Salad Bowl Red, Simpson Elite and Buttercrunch. Be careful what you choose! You could be eating this salad for awhile, so make sure it's something you like. After you buy the lettuce plants you'll need to transfer them to a larger pot, following the directions that come with each plant. Put them on your deck, make sure they are watered, and voila! Endless salad. Harvest the large leaves on the outside, wash, and enjoy. It's fast growing and fast yielding, and it's said to last through the end of the summer! You'll be surprised at how quickly it grows. I've had my plants for 2 weeks, and I've had a salad every day from them!

If you do want to try this out this season, I recommend calling ahead instead of making a special trip to your favourite local gardening center. I've heard these plants disappear quickly because of their growing popularity, so call ahead to make sure there's one there for you!   

I'll give you all an update late in August to let you know how my endless summer salad story concludes! Happy Monday! x