My Man Grows Stupendous Lettuce

– Posted in: Vegetables
19 comments

He Won’t Brag, So I Will

Just one head of lettuce provides salad for twelve. Can your lettuce do that?

Just one head of lettuce provides salad for twelve. Can your lettuce do that?


My husband would tell you that he had nothing to do with it. Someone else sowed the seeds; he just stuck the seedlings in the ground. God provided the rain. Yeah, but who was up there weeding?
Shaded by the broccoli, the lettuce isn't bitter, even though it's pretty nigh bolted.

Shaded by the broccoli, the lettuce isn't bitter, even though it's pretty nigh bolted.

All that cool and rainy weather has been good for something: great lettuce!

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It’s a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it’s time to reflect on what’s come before.

~Mitchell Burgess in Northern Exposure

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Dragonfly Lady September 14, 2009, 1:51 pm

If I bring a dressing can I come over and sample?
.-= Dragonfly Lady´s last blog ..Duranta – A Purple Flowering Shrub =-.

debra July 30, 2009, 9:33 pm

That Mr. Purdy is going to make husbands everywhere envious! My goodness what a yummy head of lettuce!
.-= debra´s last blog ..Beautiful botanical art =-.

greg draiss July 28, 2009, 2:52 pm

Still picking lettuce here in Athens in mid-summer. One nice thing about a cool summer: nothing bolts but then peppers don’t grow either
.-= greg draiss´s last blog ..Summer Gardening Seminars Continue =-.

Gail July 28, 2009, 2:48 pm

I don’t grow lettuce Kathy, but that is some garden crop to be proud of~~gail
.-= Gail´s last blog ..Through The Porch Doors Into The Wildflower Walkway =-.

Jen July 27, 2009, 9:17 pm

Despite ideal weather I had horrible luck with lettuce this year. A planted a whole packet and got maybe 5 heads out of it. I’m attempting another batch of it heading into fall.

Crossing my fingers it works out.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Mystery Plant Identified =-.

commonweeder July 27, 2009, 1:05 pm

I’m still getting lettuce, but the heads don’t look as big and tender as that! What a guy!
.-= commonweeder´s last blog ..More Family and Flowers =-.

Lynn July 26, 2009, 4:53 pm

Beautiful! Great idea to plant among the broccoli. Ours is mostly bolted. I want to try a second crop from seed. As cloudy as it’s been, it just might work! Enjoy the salad.
.-= Lynn´s last blog ..a glimpse of nature? =-.

Scott Supak July 26, 2009, 4:11 pm

Yep, good lettuce this year! I plant just outside the drip line of a big maple, so the lettuce only gets a half day of sun (if there’s sun, that is). That slows the bolting down a little.

Also good up here with this continuous June Gloom is arugula, collards (planted very early), and other greens, although the Mizuna bolted right away… not sure why.
.-= Scott Supak´s last blog ..Peppers Need Sun =-.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter July 26, 2009, 1:25 pm

That’s awesome! We need to convince him he should be proud. Weeds deprive plants of water & nutrients, so removing them allows a plant to grow bigger and stronger.
.-= Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog ..The Return of Foliage Friday =-.

Cindy, MCOK July 26, 2009, 8:46 am

Wow, so that’s what lettuce can look like if it’s given the right growing conditions! Need I say that mine looks NOTHING like that?!
.-= Cindy, MCOK´s last blog ..Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot =-.

Dee/reddirtramblings July 26, 2009, 8:42 am

It gets too hot here too fast to create anything like that. Glad you’re so proud of him. Enjoy that luscious salad.~~Dee

cityslipper (food dryer) July 26, 2009, 8:33 am

Awesome gorgeous giant lettuce plants. If mine grew that big, I’ve no doubt I’d be wrestling 6-inch slugs off of them. Kudos!
.-= cityslipper (food dryer)´s last blog ..Dry Chilies =-.

Annie in Austin July 26, 2009, 1:00 am

Kathy, the lettuce is just lovely – and in the photo you look as delighted as a bride with a bouquet ;-]

Annie at the Transplantable Rose
.-= Annie in Austin´s last blog ..Guest Posting New Song for Kiss My Aster =-.

Leslie July 26, 2009, 12:38 am

I am so impressed! Mine always bolts before it gets that lush.
.-= Leslie´s last blog ..GBBD July 2009 =-.

Country Gardener July 25, 2009, 11:12 pm

Ah, ha, this cool wet summer is good for growing something! Not tomatoes, alas.
.-= Country Gardener´s last blog ..A slide show of my garden =-.

mss @ Zanthan Gardens July 25, 2009, 10:25 pm

That’s probably more lettuce than we get out of our entire mini-veggie garden in a season. Wow! I’m looking forward to winter when we can have lettuce again.
.-= mss @ Zanthan Gardens´s last blog ..Austin’s 100-Degree Days =-.

chuck b. July 25, 2009, 10:17 pm

My lettuce doesn’t do that either. It feeds two people every once in awhile and we call it good. But we do grow it all year long , which is good.
.-= chuck b.´s last blog ..Pee Wee Golf & Arcade (Guerneville, CA) =-.

Kathy Purdy July 25, 2009, 10:23 pm

Touche. We can’t grow it all year long, not with our winters. Eliot Coleman comes close, though.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens July 25, 2009, 10:11 pm

Nope, my lettuce can’t feed twelve people! That’s amazing that you are still eating lettuce from the garden in July.
.-= Carol, May Dreams Gardens´s last blog ..Hortense Hoelove Answers More Plant Questions =-.