Longing for Lettuce

Mike and I only go to the supermarket once a month. It's more convenient, and it's cheaper in the long-run (because we buy in bulk). Apart from that, our housekeeper does a wet market trip, also once a month.

Our food cycle, then, is a two-week cycle; every two weeks, we have a new batch of fresh food.

The problem, however, is that Mike and I don't get enough fresh, leafy vegetables. We rely a lot on canned veggies (we go through a number of cans of corn a month), and vegetables that keep better like carrots, sayote or cucumber.

But we both do love leaves. The problem is that when we do try to buy, say, lettuce, we only get to eat half of it before the rest of it wilts.

So today I had a brainwave. I'm going to try to grow our own lettuce. We have the space for it, and I know it can be done (Mike's mom used to grow lettuce in their backyard). It's also a perfect time to grow lettuce; the cooler weather has finally arrived, so we might just be able to see three months of fresh lettuce from our garden before the summer heat and humidity make it difficult for the lettuce to thrive.

So that's going on my list of New Year's resolutions. :)

Now, the thing is, my thumb is far from green; it's more like a pale grayish-yellow. When I took gardening for home economics in grade 5, all my sunflowers died. When I had to do gardening again in high school (we grew medicinal herbs for health class), I wisened up and bought a plant rather than a seed; all I had to do was to keep it alive for the whole quarter.

So if there's anyone out there who has attempted to grow lettuce, please do share your tips.