Growing one's own lettuce at home is relatively easy. This year our garden hosted three varieties of absolutely delicious and beautiful lettuces.

Forellenschluss is a hardy one that has survived, uncovered, the entire winter, when a late summer or fall planting was made so that the plants reached an edible stage by September or October. It has beautiful burgundy swirls throughout each leaf.

Jericho Romaine is another hardy lettuce, this one being slower to bolt (go to seed) than many others. Allow plenty of room for this beauty as the plants in good loose soil can become quite tall and wide.

Red Velvet is truly a sight to behold. Its tiny seedlings can fool you, as it does not become deeply red/burgundy until it has received a certain share of sun, and then watch out! It is the deepest red you may ever see in a lettuce.

To grow different varieties of lettuce, it is advisable to separate each variety by at least 50 feet if you are planning to save seed. For a family of 1-4, a lettuce bed could be as small as 4' X 4' or so. For the beginning gardener, lettuce is a good crop for learning some of the basics of gardening such as digging, planting, weeding, mulching, watering, and a little more weeding. With all that is happening on this globe, it might be wise for non-gardeners to get busy. Today.

Enjoy the three pictures.