Fenton Friday: Adventures in Lettuce Growing

Guest Post by Cassie Peo 

This past semester while interning at the Washington Gardener Magazine, I got to plant and watch a variety of edibles grow. At the start of this internship, I was very new to gardening and did not know what the best edibles to grow would be, but Kathy Jentz helped me decide what I should plant. I decided to grow red & green cutting lettuce, Bloomsdale spinach, arugula, and dill and got all of the seeds at the annual Washington Gardener Seed Exchange at the beginning of the semester. I planted the dill in late February and the lettuces and arugula in early March. Unfortunately, the dill was not ready to harvest before my last day of the term, but the lettuce, spinach, and arugula were ready for harvest. 

When the plants first started sprouting, I had to thin them out so they weren’t overcrowded, and I had to cut back some of the tall (overwintered) arugula that was planted next to mine so my arugula wouldn't get shaded out. I had no idea that was something I needed to do but enjoyed learning about the process of taking care of the baby sprouts, and found that I could eat them at that stage too.

In the weeks after thinning the sprouts, the lettuce and arugula filled in all of the gaps and were doing much better with more space. I really enjoyed weeding and thinning the sprouts as they grew over the course of the semester, as it was very calming. 

After harvesting on my last garden visit, I used the arugula, spinach. and lettuce to make a salad with cucumbers, broccoli, carrots, mozzarella cheese, and Trader Joe’s “Green Goddess Dressing” and it was amazing! Getting to eat the edibles I grew myself was very rewarding and made my salad taste even better. 

I had a lot of fun growing and harvesting these edible plants this semester and feel inspired to continue growing edibles in my own garden at home this summer. 

What are you growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 13th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

About the Author:
Cassie Peo was an editorial intern with Washington Gardener Magazine during the Spring 2024 semester.

Fenton Friday: Lettuce Rejoice!

This week, I harvested a bag full of the 'Bauer' lettuce that I planted around September 23. I also discovered some Arugula had reseeded itself under the thick stand of Zinnias and grown very well in their shadow. (This might be a technique to actually duplicate next summer!) I cut a few leaves from the Arugula and hope to add them to a pizza this weekend.

We had another very balmy weather week. Today it is raining and I am thankful for that as the cistern at the garden is empty and will not be refilled anymore until next spring, so any water we want to put on our seedlings and plants has to be carried in -- which is not a fun chore.

We harvested some more of the Biquinho peppers and the Okra put out a few flowers -- but I think those are both going to be pulled this week looking at the cold forecast in store for us. 

The Kale, Broccoli, Swiss Chard, and Peas are all growing well. They are mostly under cover cloths or in protected spots, so I'm not too worried about them and the coming frost/freezes.

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 11th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Grow Your Own Salad

Guest Post by Melena DiNenna

While interning at Washington Gardener this fall, I grew cutting lettuce (Lactuca sativa), also called cut-and-come-again lettuce, in the community garden. This was my first time tending to an edible plant, so it’s been an interesting learning experience. I was lucky to get seeds that were very fresh and new, so I didn’t need to plant a whole lot to get an abundance of lettuce. 

Each week, we’d go into the garden and tend to our plants. A couple of times we’d get a rainy day, so we’d leave them be that week. Over time we started to weed around the plants, too. I also grew arugula at the same time, which didn’t grow as much as the lettuce. At one point, I even had to plant more arugula seeds since we couldn’t see any seedlings. However, the cutting lettuce grew very well and steadily. In late September and again in early November, I harvested it, giving me enough lettuce to make a delicious salad that week. 

What I love about salad is it doesn’t need to be complicated—sometimes it’s just a matter of throwing together what you have in your kitchen. I washed and patted the lettuce dry and put it into a bowl. I included some leftover cherry tomatoes we had picked from the garden throughout the fall as well. I also threw in some walnuts— my favorite addition to a salad—and topped with balsamic vinaigrette. The lettuce was crunchy and the salad made for a great afternoon snack!

This was just a great experience learning how to care for a lettuce plant. It was so fun watching the process from growing as a seedling to making a great salad ingredient. I hope I get the opportunity in the future to plant some more!

About the Author: Melena DiNenna is a journalism student at the University of Maryland, College Park, with minors in Spanish and sustainability studies. She is from Salisbury, MD, and is interning this fall with Washington Gardener.

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Cutting Lettuce Plant Profile

Cutting Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) also known as cut-and-come-again lettuce are salad greens grown for their leaves, rather than to develop a head. Cutting lettuces come in red and green varieties as well as several combinations of the two colors. The leaves can be flat, ruffled, or curly.

Lettuce greens are a cool-season crop and do best in the spring and fall here in the Mid-Atlantic United States. When the summer heat moves in, the plants bolt and send up a flower shoot that produces seeds. You can collect these seeds to plant the next season. Note that lettuce seed must by fresh in order for it to have good germination.

The seeds are tiny and can be planted directly into the garden soil or in a shallow container. Cover them with a fine layer of soil and water in well. Lettuce prefers rich garden soil and does not need fertilizers. For continual harvests, you can sow additional rows of lettuce seeds every week or two.

When the plants are several inches high, use a clean pair of kitchen shears to cut off the largest leaves down to an inch or so above the root crown. Harvest only as much as you will consume right away. In a few weeks, these lettuces will grow back up again and you will be able to come back for another round of cutting. Depending on the length of your growing season, you can usually get at least 3 or 4 rounds of cut greens from the plants.

Slugs and rabbits love tender lettuce leaves as do many other garden pests. You can protect your lettuce seedlings with a wire cage or a cover cloth. The cloth can also act to shade the tender leaves as the weather heats up in late spring and insulates the plants when the autumn frosts move in.

Cutting Lettuce: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Melinda Thompson

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Fenton Friday: Garden Theft

Despite the resident rabbits, our Mesclun lettuce mix (pictured here) is coming up nicely.

And a bit of good and bad news. The Zinnia 'Profusion' that we started from seed, did so well in the community garden plot, that I transplanted a section of it to my front street corner a few weeks ago to add some color and beauty to that spot. 

Fast forward to yesterday morning when I went out to water the transplants and someone had stole a group of them. Not just picking a few flowers -- but the whole plants! -- leaving behind tell-tale holes in the soil.

People can be such jerks. 

We've also had some plant and produce thefts in the community garden as well. I know that a few our zucchini and cucumbers went missing. Though, if anyone took some of the cherry tomatoes, I'd never notice.

How do you deal with theft in your garden?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Garden Fresh Salads Galore

By Nicole Noechel 

I’ve lived in small dorms and apartments for the past four years, so I haven’t had much space to grow my own plants. I tried growing a cherry tomato plant my freshman year, but it began to die in my dorm, and I had to give it to my dad to grow in his garden. 

This semester, having space to grow my own lettuce in the Fenton Street Community Garden has been really fulfilling. Eating a salad with fresh ingredients, including my lettuce and tomatoes and peppers that Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener, kindly let me take home, makes it taste so much better. 

I planted the Lettuce Leaf 'Salad Bowl Blend' seeds from Botanical Interests in early September. I divided some between two pots that we left in Kathy’s backyard and sprinkled the rest in the community garden plot. I planted way too many seeds in the garden, not knowing how many were left in the packet, and I had to take some out so the crop wouldn’t become too crowded. 

As soon as the potted seeds sprouted, squirrels (or maybe rabbits?) began to dig up and eat them. Not wanting all of my lettuce to suffer the same fate, we covered my garden crop with a cover cloth to keep pests out. It worked well—my lettuce was still able to get the sunlight it needed, but it was safe from rabbits, squirrels, and bugs. 

I visited the garden in early October, and my lettuce was looking great. It still wasn’t ready to be harvested, but it was much taller than the pictures of seedlings that Kathy had sent me a couple weeks earlier. I pulled out any weeds, watered it, and covered it up again, excited to take some home with me the next time I visited the garden. 

By October 20, the lettuce was ready to be harvested. I carefully cut the leaves from the stems, making sure not to uproot any plants so they could continue to grow. I took my lettuce home with me and made some tasty Caesar salads, my favorite kind. I harvested another batch of lettuce a few days ago, on November 17th, and have been making salads with that as well. 

I didn’t think that growing lettuce would be so straightforward and easy, but with Kathy’s help and expertise, it has been a blast! I would definitely like to grow my own food when I move out of my apartment—especially fresh tomatoes, which I’ve enjoyed picking and eating from Kathy’s garden plot throughout the semester. I’ve learned a lot about gardening this semester, like the best ways to water fragile plants and how to cover crops to keep them from being eaten, so I will take those lessons and apply them to my gardening efforts in the future. 

About the Author: Nicole Noechel is a senior multiplatform journalism major and history minor at the University of Maryland. She is interning this fall semester with Washington Gardener.

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Frozen in Time

This week at the community garden plot it seemed like everything went into slow motion. This is the week that all the plants should be jumping! The rainy days and cool temps have slowed down most of the plants to a slow pace. The pea plants are getting so big, but have yet to flower! The strawberries have formed fruits, but they are staying yellow-green for now.

Tonight and tomorrow night we have another late freeze warning. This is unusually late and I was just sent a few tomato plants among other edibles to trial. They are all under a blanket in a corner of my home garden and I hope they make it through okay.

The lettuces are doing nicely in the plot and I am ready to make my first harvest from the Renee's Garden Baby Leaf Lettuce Heirloom Cutting Mix and I dug up a bunch of radishes to share with family members today.

What are you harvesting this month in your edible garden? 

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Early Bolting

We had severe thunderstorms pass through the region with high winds this week -- and more predicted for the weekend. The cover cloth we placed over the peas and lettuces stayed in place -- except for the one corner that I didn't pin down. Due to the early high temps this week accompanying those storms, the lettuce mix in the corner has already started to bolt (put up a flower and set seed). It's still edible, but not as delicious.

I have some Girl Scouts visiting the plot on Monday, so I want everything to look decent. I weeded out the whole plot. Without a billowy skirt of chickweed, the garlic plant from last fall is looking very good. The peas still have not flowered yet. I harvested another handful of asparagus stalks. Next, I have a few more strawberry starts to plant to revive that bed a bit. 

I will also put in some cauliflower and broccoli seedlings today. It is late in the season for them, but I might as well put them in the ground. I had dragged them on public transit to a few talks I gave on vegetable gardening and they got banged up, so they deserve to retire and rest for a while.

By the way, I am hosting an educational booth on Gardening for Pollinators at the Takoma Park Farmers Market this Sunday, May 5 from 10am-12noon. Look for the Washington Gardener Magazine banner and the butterflies. We'll be potting up annual flower seeds for folks to take home and plant in their own garden.

What is growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the FentonStreet Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 7th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Lettuce Eat

This week the lettuces are taking off. They are almost full-size and I think ready for cutting and making a few big salads. The wire cage did its job, there were no rabbit incursions. However, something is nibbling at one of the lettuce mixes. Maybe slugs? I'll try sprinkling a bit of Sluggo around it after the storm system passes through the area today.

The pea plants are also putting on some growth, but no flowers yet.

I harvested a BIG batch of asparagus.

I never got time to weed or plant the radishes and carrots. Maybe can get to that on Easter Monday. Then next on the to-do list will be sowing a cutting garden.

What is growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the FentonStreet Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 7th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Rain-fueled Weeds and Harvest Bounty

It was another week of multiple flooding rains here in the Mid-Atlantic. We measured another 3 inches falling in our garden and more is do today and over the weekend. I will never complain about the rain though as the opposite is so soul-suckingly awful!

The weeds have thoroughly enjoyed the rain and I spend most of my time in the plot just pulling out what I can. The Peas were a bust so I pulled those vines out and the Asparagus has ended so I tied up the tall stalks. The rest of my time is spent harvesting.

This week I cut a big bowl-full of Lettuce for a neighborhood Memorial Day barbecue and cut all the Garlic scapes off. I gave the latter to my mom for use in omelettes and other dishes.

The Strawberries continue to be bountiful. I get about a half-pint a day now as they are slowing down a bit. I also planted two ever-bearing strawberry plants that I hope to be able to snack from in coming months.

I haven't had a chance yet to put in the summer crops - tomatoes, peppers, melons, etc. I hope to do that next week.

The annual cut Flowers self-seeded from last year like crazy and I'll need to spend a morning thinning those out and transplanting a bunch as they inevitable sow themselves exactly where you don't want them.

One more thing that has self-sown again is the Ground Cherries. I'll need to thin them a bit, but otherwise I'll let them go and do their thing.

How is your vegetable garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 6th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Shredded Lettuce

I sat to write this post when all hell broke loose outside. A mid-afternoon thunderstorm arrived with two rounds of golf-ball-sized hail. I just spent the last two hours mopping out my sunroom and picking up broken branches. My home garden looks like it went through a blender with leave parts strewn everywhere. It was with some trepidation that I went over to the Fenton Community Garden to see my plot.

It is not as bad as I thought. Everything is laying down for the hail and rain deluge, but I think it will all right. Most of it just looks soggy and beaten/bruised, but not broken.

The question of the week is that the Mustard Greens are ready to pick (after they recover from the storms), so now what? Do I cook them? Eat them raw? How do you prepare yours?

About Fenton Friday: 
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 5th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)