Show Date: 29 Jun 09

I feel like a rabbit with all the lettuce I’ve eaten lately!

‘Gourmet Blend,’ from Burpee, is my favorite mix of loose leaf lettuce. I’ve been adding the tomatoes I dried last year until this years tomatoes are ripe. They offer a burst of flavor and a chewy texture. Herbs are easy to grow and are another great addition to salads. Tarragon, Parsley, ‘Spicy Globe’ Basil and chives to name a few. Oh, just not all together! Nasturtiums, pansies and daylily buds are also tasty and look great in your salad.

Burpee 'Gourmet blend'

The Gourmet Blend from Burpee in particular:

Gourmet blend from Burpee

I’m not much for iceberg lettuce as it tends to get bitter quickly. I like going out and picking the amount of “greens” I want. I like the variety of color and texture in looseleaf varieties. Adding looseleaf lettuce to containers or hanging planters adds great accent. Make a salad bowl! Using 2 hanging baskets with fiber liners, fill them each with soil, lay cardboard on top of one so that you can flip it on top of the other one without making a huge mess! Pull the cardboard out and then use wire to attach the hanging baskets where they meet. Cut x’s in the liners from 3 to 6 inches apart and plant your transplants.

This 2-in-1 veggie with great curb appeal. The leaves can replace spinach and the stems can be steamed like asparagus.

Bright lights Swiss chard.

There are 3 types:

• The white-stemmed are more cold and heat tolerant but not as pretty.
• The colored variety are, well, colorful. The leaves taste more like spinach, are smaller and work well in containers.
• And finally the Perpetual variety which delivers continuously as you pinch the leaves.

When you thin seedlings of Chard use a scissor to cut the plant rather than pull it out. Excess chard can be blanched and frozen like spinach. You can dry the leaves and use the flakes to color dishes and add nutrition! Follow packet directions when planting.