Salad, at last....

This is what I've been waiting for (and hopefully what I'll experience for the rest of the growing season). Today was the first day I was able to go out to the backyard and pick a full plate of salad completely of lettuces, herbs and other good things from my garden. I am proud of my own hard work and thankful for a God who makes things grow while we sleep.

I've spent recent days borrowing Joe Anderson's cantankerous tiller (thanks Joe!) to turn over another column (10-foot rows x 15) to work in, right next to the corn fort I planted by moonlight on the last day of Farmer's-Almanac- approved corn planting days. I wanted another lettuce section, since my longest row of lettuces is about to be totally overtaken by weeds. I'll have to do away with it soon, but I can eat lettuce all summer long. I now have planted in or near this section:

• Rouge d'hiver - an heirloom French lettuce that is red and very pretty
• Freckles - a green heirloom lettuce with red spots
• Strawberry cabbage - a pretty heirloom that looks lettuce growing out of a dish - red and green
  
• Gotte Jaune D'or - a beautiful light green, French lettuce (I love this one, because the heads look like big green roses. You can pick one whole head and make a small salad of it. Very mild.)
  
• Four rows of Paris Island Romaine lettuce interplanted with beets
• Mervielle de Quattre Saisons - A really pretty light green lettuce with red edges
• Half a row of iceberg - just because
• Some herbs - tarragon, basil and cilantro
• Some yarrow flowers - supposed to help the herbs and lettuces; and
• Some bunching onions

We've gotten quite a few meals out of these greens in the last week. I'm hoping the new rows will produce like crazy, so I'll have more to share.