In the Garden: Get a jumpstart on the garden
We’re all just dying to get something planted in our vegetable gardens, right? I frequently preach the importance of being patient, but I’m going to throw that out the window today. That’s because I have a project to help you get a jump on planting. Your reward will be fresh salad greens.
This year, I’m going to grow lettuce outside earlier than ever. My secret weapon is a cloche, which is the French word for bell. In European gardens, large bell-shaped covers made of glass are often used to protect plants from cold temperatures. I don’t have individual cloches, but I do have a row cloche system that is a heavy-duty, clear plastic tunnel. I realize not everyone has cloches, so here are two easy alternatives:
The first option involves cutting off the bottoms of one-gallon milk jugs. Keep the lids on them and place the jugs in a garden bed about 10 inches apart to begin warming the soil. If you can, push them down into the soil; otherwise, attach a board or stake to prevent them from blowing away.
The other option is to make a low tunnel over one of your beds. To do this, install a few hoops, spaced 2 feet apart, down the length of the bed. You can purchase heavy-gauge wire hoops at garden centers or make your own hoops from black poly sprinkler pipe. Home centers sell rolls of poly pipe.
It might be tricky pushing each end of the hoop into the soil, so consider pounding in some short lengths of rebar (steel reinforcing rods) on either side of the bed and slip the hoops over them. Lay a sheet of clear plastic over the hoops and weigh it down along the outer edges and ends. Put your low tunnel in place as soon as you can to begin pre-warming the soil.
Last week, I suggested you start some lettuce seeds indoors. If you missed that, you’ll want to do this right away to give them a head start rather than sowing the seeds outdoors.
Once your seedlings have some true (mature) leaves, feed them with a liquid nitrogen fertilizer at half the recommended rate on the label and repeat this about 10 days later. The seedlings should be ready to go outside in about three weeks.
The outdoor soil temperature for planting lettuce should be at least 40 degrees. When you are able to dig a few small planting holes in the soil of your covered bed – or beneath your milk jugs – plant the seedlings.
Keep an eye on the weather forecasts. On sunny days, open the ends of the low tunnel, or remove the lids of your milk jugs so the plants don’t fry. Be sure to close the plastic again, or replace the lids, before the sun goes down. Monitor the soil moisture and water as needed so it won’t dry out.
As soon as the plants have several leaves, start harvesting some of the leaves once or twice a week. By harvesting individual leaves instead of whole plants, they will continue producing new foliage until hot weather arrives.
Ordinarily, I plant lettuce seeds directly in the garden around April 10, but I love the idea of enjoying homegrown lettuce a lot sooner. You should be able to remove the low tunnel or milk jugs in early April since the plants will be able to tolerate the temperatures.
Susan Mulvihill is author of “The Vegetable Garden Pest Handbook.” She can be reached at susan@susansinthegarden.com. Watch this week’s “Everyone Can Grow a Garden” video at youtube.com/susansinthegarden.