Weather moderates in September!

While this summer was pretty much a flop – too hot and too dry for much in the way of good vegetable production, the early fall has proved to be just the opposite! Some where’s around mid August things got cooler and wetter and, can you believe it, my pepper plants that had languished all summer kicked into high gear! I’ve had a bumper and welcome crop that have become the mainstay of my salads as celery is currently at 1.89 a bunch. That’s just too expensive!

The change in the weather patterns also prompted me to plant fifteen lettuce seeds in starter trays that consisted of Little Caesar and Buttercrunch varieties on August the 15^th. Most of them germinated and were placed into tow cold frames I maintain in front of my house. My timing was good as the day after they were transplanted out, it began to drizzle for the next three days. I also went ahead and planted some Cherry Belle radish seeds in the spaces between the small lettuce plants. They should be up for harvest by the end of October when temperatures will still be moderate. The lettuce should get big enough to harvest and then will stay in good shape under glass for the balance of the winter. There’s something special about eating fresh romaine lettuce in December!