How do you review a lettuce? Probably one of the hardest things to do if you’re a blogger seeing as they all seem to taste relatively the same and generally serve the same purpose.
If you’ve been following this blog, you’d have seen I had decided to grow Tom Thumb lettuce – a fast growing variety ideal for growing from March all the way through to August.
I sowed quite a lot of them in a polystyrene tray and if I’m totally honest, I would sow these differently I were sowing them again – perhaps only one or two in pots and then thin them out later. I’d also keep the plants on the windowsill inside your own home purely because I have found that lettuce should be fresh and at your fingertips, in my opinion growing them at an allotment is a little bit too inconvenient, because you have to go to your allotment, dig it up or cut it and then go back. I tend use lettuce for salads for lunch, and I’m not just not that organised, so I would definitely recommend growing these on a window box for the dis-organised among you.
If you are that organised and you’re short of space at home, there is a plus side, which is that Tom Thumb lettuces were pretty low maintenance as the seed packet described, this is a real benefit. They also lasted once they were cut, provided they were kept in a bag in the fridge.
If you do plan on keeping your lettuce in the fridge for a number of days then it’s best that you’re really thorough in your cleaning and subsequent drying. Be sure to wash your lettuce in cold water, and add a few splashes of vinegar to kill any hidden creepy crawlies and be quite diligent in getting all that mud off as this could work with any moisture to create mould and quickly turn your lettuce.
I’d really recommend investing in a lettuce drier (or salad spinner) (you know those cool things that spin around when you turn the handle). Compared to lettuces you buy in the shop, these really stand above the rest – purely because it was fresher and you knew where it had come from.
Now, what variety of salad to grow next…
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