Garden Status November 5, 2012

Every now and then I will post pictures of what is happening in the garden. I grow vegetables year round so there is always lettuce growing in the garden. I also have to improve at posting photos.

The garden is now seeing temperatures in the low 30's (F) by day and temps in the 20's at night. I keep the lettuce covered all day and night with 4mil plastic. I use old hoophouse 4 mil plastic to cover my raised beds. I use recycled, bent political signs to keep the plastic off the lettuce. The sides of the plastic are kept sealed to the ground by clothespins, bricks, and field stones. The glaciers were here long ago so finding cantaloupe size rocks is easy.

I took a couple of pictures of the lettuce under the plastic. On the left is mesclun mix and on the right is
romaine lettuce.

Here is another picture further down the bed. On the left is romaine lettuce and on the right is mesclun mix . In the center is Bibb Buttercrunch lettuce. 

I use succession planting so the lettuce bed has repetitive plants in various stages of growth. This insures a continuous supply of lettuce. The raised beds has black plastic covering the soil. This minimizes weeds and helps to retain heat in the soil. 

As you can see, simple gardening techniques can help extend the growing season. I am harvesting fresh organic lettuce and it is November!!

Thanks for reading my blog.

Next blog: When Do I Plant?