On Friday, March 13 this year, despite the inauspicious date, I made the daring decision to delay no longer and proceed in full-spring-ahead garden mode.
The decision was prompted partly by unusually mild overnight temperatures and partly by two flats of Tom Thumb lettuce transplants that were rapidly outgrowing their one-litre milk cartons.
So it was that Tom Thumb was transplanted into the open garden three to four weeks ahead of my usual timing. I鈥檓 hearing the same story of early planting from many growers and home gardeners this year. This extra-early spring season makes me wonder what summer will bring.
Why two flats of the same variety? To compare the results between them. When it comes to听these older, open-pollinated (non-hybrid) varieties, it鈥檚 useful to note that many different strains exist. Planting a favourite variety with seed from more than one source can yield a helpful guide to future purchases.
Its long history and my own past experience growing this lettuce gave me confidence in Tom Thumb 鈥� a confidence that was not misplaced. The plants remain beautifully perky. Luckily, no pounding rains materialized to听pulverize the plants and rot the听roots.
Tom Thumb is probably the oldest American lettuce variety still in cultivation 鈥� since around 1830. It鈥檚 a remarkably fast-growing, miniature butterhead that matures to a fully and tightly packed, baseball-sized head of buttery, light green and creamy yellow leaves.
The plants are ideal for small garden spaces and containers, even windowboxes. Wherever it is grown, a Tom Thumb planting is as lovely to look at as it is delectable to consume.
Another very compact, space-saving yet fully packed lettuce to consider, whether space is an issue or not, is the miniature romaine Little Gem, which grows to just around 10 centimetres wide and 15听cm tall. The leaves are thick and juicy, with a sweet crunch 鈥� a nice complement to Tom Thumb鈥檚 soft, smooth texture. Little Gem has long been a popular gourmet market lettuce, one you鈥檒l have at its very best when you grow your own.
West Coast Seeds lists both of these fine, space-thrifty lettuces. Both give a remarkable amount of leafage in a tiny area. They are routinely among the first lettuces I seed every year. At each transplanting I sow a few more seeds indoors, to maintain a steady supply of these uniquely lovely and delicious, eminently practical lettuces.
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Rhododendron convention. The Victoria Rhododendron Society will be hosting the 70th Anniversary American Rhododendron Society 2015 Convention Wednesday through Sunday, May 6-10, at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. Seven international rhododendron experts from France, England, Scotland, Oregon, China and Germany will speak at the convention.
Registrants will have the opportunity to purchase unusual and species rhododendron from among 1,600 plants. On Sunday morning a plant sale will give the public access to the remaining plants.
Twenty-nine private and public garden tours in locations from Sidney to the Cowichan Valley will be available, as well as a one-day tour to Campbell River and a four-day tour to Tofino.
For a convention schedule, information about the individual speakers and accommodation for out-of-town registrants, and听details on the tours, visit 2015rhodo.ca, where you can also download a registration form.
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GARDEN EVENT
Alpine plant talks. The Alpine Gardeners of Central Vancouver Island are pleased to present David Sellars, award winning photographer and writer about alpine plants, who will give two presentations on Monday from 1-3 p.m. in the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre. The first talk, Picos de Europa: The Alpine Garden of the Cantabrian Mountains, follows a field trip last spring to northern Spain to observe the amazing floral diversity of the area. The presentation will feature alpine and meadow plants of the Picos, including many that can be grown on the west coast. The other presentation, on where to find alpine flowers in the Olympic Mountains of Washington state, will focus on routes to locate endemic alpines and other special plants. Doors open at 12:30. Admission is $5 at the door including coffee or tea and entry in a prize draw. The speaker will also have plants for sale.
