Sunday, January 24, 2010

Lettuce and Thyme Ground Covers

    lettuce and thymeThyme fills in between the pink limestone paths that weave throughout the garden. I plan to do a post on the pathways and how Ted and I “mined” the local stone.  Plants that carpet the ground are my favorites. And thymes not only carpet but add amazing scent.  But, this post is about lettuce. Years ago I started lettuce inside and every year I  let at least 2 plants of 5 varieties set seed. In the spring, while I can still identify the lettuce I tag the plants I plan to let go to seed. After the lettuces go to seed they get to look alike. Every spring I have a huge volunteer crop of lettuce. They are healthier and stronger than any I start from seed indoors.  We get two oak leaf varieties, a red and a green. We get rouge d’hiver, which is a red lettuce, a small romaine,I think it was Little Jim and a butter crunch type of lettuce.  Perhaps this year I will take some different varieties and sow them about the time my faithful and true volunteers  are sprouting.  The thyme in this picture is Lavender Creeping Thyme. (thymus preacox skorpilii)  I purchased it many springs ago in Colorado. I have divided and planted this thyme throughout the garden. It loves it here.

17 comments:

  1. Lovely thyme and stones I might add! Is that lettuce too? ... you can pick a salad while walking through the garden. I look forward to seeing your 'paths post'. Try saying that fast! :>)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Gloria, Although not a vegetable grower - lack of space - I am tempted to grow salad crops in large pots. I have seen this done on several balconies in London, and now you have inspired me to have a go.

    ReplyDelete
  3. and they look so pretty together!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love to grow lettuce, and I would love to grow thyme, but it is too hot here. I really like how you use it as a ground cover.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like the idea of letting the lettuce go to seed, something I have not done before. It will be worth a try - especially if the seedlings are survivors.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never seen lettuce used as a ground cover, it does add a lot of interest! I wish my path was in a sunny area, I love how the thyme looks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If I let my lettuce grow in the cracks in my path the snails would have a feast. Do you think that the smell of the thyme detracts snails from eating yours Gloria ?

    Rosie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello Gloria,

    Your thyme is beautiful. I look forward to seeing your lettuce crop in a few months. I love pathways made of stone and the thyme just makes it perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the comments-We are so dry here that we do not have snails. I can find some slugs under rocks and sometimes around the strawberries. I use a product called Escar-go! from Gardens Alive.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Gloria, thanks for the info about the lettuces amid the thyme, and the Gardens Alive stuff. Slugs are a problem in some of our beds and seem unstoppable. We get that catalog and I have seen that product and will look into it. I look forward to the mining story. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lettuce -- never heard of that. Very clever. I am a huge fan of that thyme ground cover. I have that growing in my yard, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great idea! My volunteer lettuce always does better than the lettuce seed I plant in the spring.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the thyme! I do something similar in my garden, and I love the way it smells when I walk on it! Dreamy!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have planted thyme and other "steppables"in between the stepping stones in my Lady Garden. It is also one of the few things I have found that will grow successfully in a large stone planter across the front of my house. The planter is covered by an overhanging eve and gets brutal hot afternoon sun in the summer. I love the way it smells!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had no idea lettuce would volunteer. Although, I did plant some in the fall with a mustard cover crop and I'm surprised to see they are still green, not happy, but green after a couple of weeks under snow. I may have to experiment a bit next winter. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I will try to use this idea of self-seeded lettuce. Thank you Gloria! I am admiring your limestone!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!

    ReplyDelete