If you’ve ever wondered what farmers think about or discuss, let me tell you. We talk about farming. We talk about how to cut expenses, how to increase yield, how to better utilize our resources. We have discussions just like any other businessmen or women do. We also talk about how much we like Cherokee purple tomatoes, how we prefer the ichiban eggplant over black beauties, and how much more we like farm fresh lettuce as opposed to store bought. But, lately, we’ve been talking about which variety of lettuce is our favorite. Now, you have to understand that there are several people residing in our household at the moment – each with a different and conflicting choice of favorite. While Troy pretty much eats anything placed in front of him, he really likes butter crunch lettuce – leaf or head – he’s not picky. He does not care for kale. He will eat it mixed in with our salad mix, but definitely prefers his lettuce. Troy also likes spinach on occasion – as long as I pick it small. Then you have Hannah, who is a leafy green connoisseur. She is a kale girl. She loves the lacinato or dinosaur kale. She, again, taking after her father, loves them all – but dinosaur is her favorite.
Last but not least, there’s me. I love it all – but really like the Pac choy and Bok choy we have grown. So, what do you do when you have multiple opinions on the best varieties to grow? Play rock, paper, scissors? Or try eenie, meenie, minee, mo? If you’re me – you plant them all. When we first began to garden, I decided to purchase several different types of lettuce to see which our family preferred. We really enjoyed the fresh lettuce from those first plantings and began incorporating salads regularly into our menus. In fact, as we started harvesting more and more, we were having salads every night and giving lettuce to friends and family. As I complained to Hannah one night about how well the lettuce was producing to the point we had much more than we needed, she suggested we post it on social media. And so it began. We have over the last several years incorporated many different types of lettuce, kale, chard, Pak choy, Bok choy, mustard and spinach. We like the assortment, the mix of different flavors. Now, I pass that on to my customers by selling my lettuce in a mixed greens bag, so you can try a little of everything. I also do a mixed kale bag so customers can sample the different types and textures. And, of course, I am happy to pick to order for anyone who has particular favorites and wants only specific varieties. At McTier Family Farms you can have any kind you like – no need for eenie, meenie, minee, mo…..