It's Gettin' Hot in Here, so Take Off All Your Overalls
I haven't had many garden posts. Part of the reason: it's been too hot.
As I've gotten older, my heat tolerance has declined noticeably. In fact, I think it's the only effect of age I really feel. At 54, I can still play basketball, lift weights, sprint . . . no doubt more slowly, but I don't "feel" any different.
But the heat? Hoodoggy. I have officially thrown-in my sweat-drenched towel. I had to spend a lot of time outdoors last weekend and felt like I was having a heat stroke . . . or real stroke . . . but still had social obligations to meet. Never again. I now have a rule: If the temperature is over 85, I stay indoors. No exceptions.
Earlier last week, I read an article that said that, if you explain to people that you "have a rule," they will normally respect it. So, if you say, "I have this rule. I try not even to mention a person's name if they're not in the conversation," people will tend to respect it. Or, "I have a rule that I don't drink on Sundays." Or whatever.
So I now have a rule: "I have this rule. I don't go outside for more than three minutes if it's over 85 degrees or, due to humidity, the inside of my thighs feel like I urinated myself."
When the heat broke earlier this month, I ventured back into the garden and noticed that the Jester lettuce I planted was thriving.
I mean, thriving.
And it's been hot.
This marvelous letter has become my favorite, shooting past my first favorite (Black Seeded Simpson) and now even surpassing all of the shockingly-expensive Salanova strains. Jester tastes great, grows fast, produces tons of seeds, provides a degree of loft to lettuce mixes, and thrives in every kind of weather: hot, cold, medium. It doesn't matter.
If you want this incredible lettuce seed, I recommend Wild Garden Seeds. They're reliable with great customer service. And their seed catalogue is a work of literary art.
