Taking Lettuce for a Spin

  I have never been a gadgety kind of person.  I think I was one of the last people in Solano County to get a cell phone and we still have a small TV that works very well. So it is very surprising that I am going to be extolling a gadget on my turn to blog. And it's not even a gardening gadget, technically anyway. Here is the story: I started growing lettuce during the winter several years ago, first in pots and later in my raised beds. I grew both head lettuce and leaf lettuce, but no matter how I tried, I could not get it to be crisp and supple like what I get at the supermarket.
   I tried multiple techniques and too often the leaves ended up limp or dried out. I even separated each leaf from a head lettuce, washed it and laid it between two strips of paper towels or dish towels.  This took an enormous amount of space in the refrigerator and lettuce leaves would fall out on the floor as I transferred the stack from the frig to the counter. Sigh.
    Then I discovered the salad spinner! This is clever device which spins the excess moisture out of the leaves of lettuce, or kale, or spinach, after they have been washed.  Next the whole thing can go in the frig and be stored there til you are ready to make your salad. The leaves have stayed crisp for several days which is good since it is just my husband and me. No mess, no fuss, and it is kind of fun to push the spinner. Add to that I have heard that I can also use the spinner to get out some of the excess moisture when I do my felting projects, shortening the drying time. How cool is that?

lettuce in the yard

salad spinner

Read more