[Alas Babylon!]

Well, the heat is on!

This week in South Alabama the heat and humidity of the Deep South has arrived!

My lettuce and spinach really took on the urge to flower and get bitter.

This year has been such a treat, though. So much bounty in this little space! I've picked several 2-3 pound romaine heads and very large Boston Bibbs this year. I've been eating lettuce like a rabbit.

The Napa cabbage heads are about ready. I should probably pick them today or tomorrow as hotter weather is coming.

Here's a picture of the bed today:

BTW, this is a 12 feet by 4 feet, 1 foot high bed I got at Amazon for a $79+ dollars. A very good deal, so I just bought two more. Amazon Land Guard raised bed

I highly reccomend it! It is very sturdy, and metal is strong and braces well. That one dent up front is where I dropped a sledgehammer on it! I put up bamboo stakes at the corners and halfway outside of the bed so I could cover it in anti-deer netting, if needed.

[FamiliarFace]

Great job! Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

[Alas Babylon!]

The bed equals 48 square feet for those doing Square Foot Gardening. This bed would have really pleased Mel Bartholomew.

[BipolarBob]

That looks great. I was going to rebuild my composite raised beds with something more sturdy. I was going to go with concrete boards like they use for tile (3’ x 5’) and reinforce them but this looks cheaper and just as durable. Have you thought about going 2 or 3 panels high? That’s probably what i would be looking at.

[Qiviut]

I bought 4 galvanized beds on sale from Northern Tool a couple of years ago, each 3’ x 6’. They had larger ones, but when I calculated sale price per square foot, the smaller ones were the better deal. I have used them for herbs & flowers, but this year, 3 of the 4 are in onions, peppers & radishes & the 4th is still in herbs.

The corners on mine look like yours. They are deeper than my wooden beds which I like. I think I paid $39.99/ea., regular $69.99/ea. Yours is a REAL deal!! Wish I had a spot for one that big, I would get it in a flash 😀

[Diana in Wisconsin]

If you like ‘greens’ and no doubt you do as a ‘Southerner,’ you can get a little more mileage out of lettuce that is going bitter by grilling or sauteing it.

I’ve made the ‘Grilled Caesar Salad’ before and everyone liked it and thought it was quite unique.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/a41953/reasons-you-should-be-cooking-your-lettuce/