The joy of growing your own greens
Intellectually, I know that gardening comes with its fair share of bugs, pests and creepy crawlies. But knowing this and encountering such creatures in my lunch are two very different things.
The first spring I grew lettuce and spinach in my raised bed garden was an exciting year. Unlimited fresh greens seemed like a fantastic way to save some money and feed my family healthy sides. Plus, a perk of planting leaf lettuce is that you can sow it early in the season, and it grows quickly. Within a month, it’s ready to harvest, and if you just cut off the leafy tops, you have unlimited salad greens all spring if you don’t let it go to seed.
Green goddess
The first few salad bowls were a celebration of what a fantastic gardener I was. Was it fresher than grocery lettuce? Definitely. Greener? Of course. Tastier? Duh.
Several weeks later, the novelty had worn off for the kids. They were equally sick of salad and of me bragging that I’d grown it with my own two hands. Honestly, the novelty was wearing off for me as well. Every time I went to the garden, it began to feel like a real “fishes and loaves” situation. Incredulously, as quickly as I was harvesting the lettuce, it was growing back fuller and thicker. I could feed my entire neighborhood with the absurd amount I was growing.
Slimy stowaway
Then came the fateful day that would swear me off garden lettuce for the rest of the season. I cut, washed and put the lettuce in the salad spinner for a summer lunch. Cucumber, cherry tomatoes, cheese, carrots and croutons went into the bowl. I had taken about three bites when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something that didn’t look like any of the toppings I had added to my salad. Slowly, I turned over the forkful of greens I was about to put in my mouth, praying it wasn’t what it looked like it might be — a juicy garden slug.
I clamped my lips together to hold in the salad that threatened to come right back up. The garden slug that clung to my utensil may or may not have been flung across the kitchen as my bowl clattered into the sink. It was a good 30 minutes before I could open my mouth without feeling nauseous. And when my husband asked a few days later why I hadn’t made salad lately, I slow-blinked at him until he backed away.
I eventually came back around to loving garden greens. But now I wash much more thoroughly. And I check. Every. Single. Bite.
Jamie would be an excellent contestant on The Amazing Race because she loves to have great travel adventures and is not afraid of heights. But she would never be the teammate who has to eat weird things.
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