Romaine and Radishes!

This promises to be a really great growing season down here in southwest Missouri. We’ve had ample rain and the last few weeks have seen almost perfect growing conditions. The nighttime temperatures have been in the fifties followed by daytime highs in the seventies and low eighties. As a result my early radishes and romaine lettuce have really taken off!

The radish seed I like to use is a variety called Cherry Belle and the lettuce is called Little Caesar from Burpee Seed. I’ve been growing both for some years now and enjoy the crunchy taste of the fresh radishes and fullness of body you get with romaine. Both of these are now growing in my small cold frames (the windows have been removed) and in the open raised beds out back. My seeding of lettuce back in October is why I’m enjoying lots of fresh romaine salads right now. This is especially nice considering the cost of a head of iceberg lettuce at the market right now. Now, while I do not have this down to a science, I have been lucky enough to grow just enough plants, spaced the right amount of time apart to insure a continuous supply through mid summer. At that time, I hold off planting any more lettuce until mid August when I can get in yet another crop and then a late planting in October so the small plants have a chance to grow big enough to survive the winter months.