Our lettuce and tatsoi are really thriving, producing more than we can eat. So we decided it was finally time to make an appearance at the local farmers’ market, as growers this time. (We’ve been working with the market here to help with marketing and try to increase the emphasis on fresh, local produce, not much in demand in our community. We never thought we’d sell there, but what better way to help the market grow.)
Saturday morning, we harvested. Then we began the process of triple-washing, spinning, and packing the greens. We’ve had lots of experience doing this before, but never in our house with our produce!
When it was all done, we had 15 bags of lettuce and 5 bags of tatsoi, plus a few extra bags for ourselves. Amazingly, we still only harvested about half the bed. We sold most of it and gave the rest to friends.
Our lettuce is really delicious, despite the fact that it’s been over 100 here (unusually hot). Most other folks here say their lettuce has gone bitter. I attribute our success to the fact that our lettuce bed is in the afternoon shade (and covered and gets a lot of water).
The rest of the garden is doing well. Brad harvested almost 9 pounds of hardneck garlic, and the shallots will be ready soon. The tomatoes are thriving, and we have little pea-sized watermelons. I love summer!
