Fresh Salad in a Hurricane...

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get some lettuce starts while at school (thank you Horticulture degree, I don't remember getting free plants in engineering school) and I put them in containers in my cold frame to see how they would do (Lettuce in a Cold Frame).

Turns out they're doing great!! Who would have thought! I decided to harvest some before Sandy came to town and I'm treating myself to a fresh salad for dinner tonight.

Lettuce & Cabbage seem to be loving the cold frame

I'm topping the fresh lettuce with very little, some goat cheese crumbles and a homemade salad dressing. During my recent trip to California I picked up some garlic olive oil and honey balsamic vinegar that together with some fresh cracked black pepper that just makes an amazing dressing! 

As you can see from the mostly empty bottle...I'm finding the honey balsamic hard to resist! 

How do you like to dress your salads??  

Lettuce in Cold Frame???

I have a problem.... I can not turn down free plants. It doesn't matter if I have space to plant to them... I just simply can not turn them down.

Last night our professor offered us lettuce, cabbage,  and broccoli starts.  I do not have a garden to plant them in but how could I turn down free plants???

I was conservative I only brought home three types of lettuce and some cabbage... that's not bad right?

Free plants ... Lettuce and Cabbage

On my hour drive home from class I started thinking where could I put these new plants. I have a cold frame out back and decided to give that a shot.

Went to Target and bought clear plastic shoe boxes and drilled six holes in the bottom of them thinking they might make good containers or trays for my lettuce. At $1.22 a piece it was worth a shot

Plastic Shoe boxes  with holes for drainage

Then I simply filled them up with potting soil and stuck in the lettuce and cabbage. I have a feeling the cabbage may get a little bit too big for its britches in the box, but it is worth a shot.  Had a few extra cabbage plants so I put them out in the front with a *FREE* sign. I guess we'll see who else likes free plants 

Anyone else want some free plants? 

. I'm hoping this works and I can have some fresh lettuce and salad all winter long. Anyone else have any luck growing lettuce this way?