Published: November 14, 2008 04:30 pm            

Gardening is the purest of human pleasures

Jo Anne Boudreau, Democrat Columnist

There are many types of lettuce that do extremely well in our hot dry southern gardens when temperatures drop and the soil cools in late fall. Choose varieties with the lowest number of days to harvest so you can have several crops before the heat of late spring sets in. Just make sure you put lettuce seeds in the refrigerator for a week before planting. Lettuce can be planted from late September through mid-February, spacing them 6 inches apart for the baby types and 12 inches apart for the regular-sized varieties. Some nurseries carry pots of lettuce seedlings that can be transplanted and shave two weeks off harvest time.

Wild lettuce is found throughout the world as a common weed. Even when young, wild lettuce is very bitter so is used sparingly in salads. Gardeners began cultivating lettuce during Egyptiana times and it became popular throughout Europe and later made its way to America with the early settlers. Today, lettuce accounts for over 25 percent of the fresh vegetables eaten in the U.S. It is a member of the sunflower family so will stunt the growth of potatoes if planted nearby.

The best companion plants for lettuce are beets, cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, leeks, onions and strawberries. Herbs that enhance the growth of lettuce are calendula, chrysanthemums, marigolds and petunias. Sprinkle lettuce seeds in big tubs of chrysanthemums for a beautiful display and good eating. Make a salad with fresh picked lettuce leaves and chrysanthemum petals. Harvest lettuce first thing in the morning and put in the refrigerator for the juiciest lettuce.

Lettuce leaves secrete a milky latex when the plant bolts and goes to seed. Bolted lettuce is very bitter but very cooling and sedating to the body. Prized for centuries, old bolting lettuce has been used to tame a fever, liver inflammations and lust. The soporific properties of lettuce contains sedatives which relax the nerves. It is a superior source of magnesium, which contributes to its soothing properties. It also acts as a diuretic, and treats edema, candida and other damp conditions. Lettuce contains the highest amount of silicon of any common vegetable. Silicon is the stuff that glues the cells together keeping our skin youthful. Lettuce also nourishes the pancreas which helps make pancreatin digestive enzyme.

Lettuce made into salads during cool weather can warm the body by adding warming herbs such as baby mustard greens, arugula, watercress, nasturtiums, fennel, garlic, onions and ginger.

Plant lettuce in garden soil or pots enriched with plenty of mushroom compost one-quarter inch deep and one inch apart. Keep the seedbed moist for germination to occur. Thin seedlings 6 to 12 inches apart. I snip off the roots and put the seedling in salads and stir-frys. Water lettuce deeply to 12 inches and keep the soil moist at all times. Apply sea mineral or fish emulsion fertilizer every two weeks during late fall, winter and early spring. Keep a thick layer of mulch along the lettuce bed. Plant rows of garlic, onions, leeks or garlic chives around the lettuce bed to keep rabbits and deer from raiding the beds at night.



Listen to Jo Anne Boudreau on Herb Talk Thursday morning from 8 to 9 on KMQX 88.5, 89.5, K2459 97.7, K72AZ 91.1 FM radio and www. KYQX.com

        

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