Direct-seeding didn't work for me this year but I don't know if it was me or the weather or the mix. I'd have to try flats before I pass judgment but I think it's cheaper to buy bulk seed and mix your own.

Angela, as long as the CENTER is left intact they should keep growing. If you left 2-3 inches, I wouldn't think you'd have stopped the growth. Maybe a better way for you would be to hand pick the outer leaves. That's actually what I do with my lettuce, it was the mesclun bed that I was cutting. I hand pick leaves from my spinach and my lettuce, only taking leaves that are large enough to use. I notice they aren't growing much right now, and the variety of lettuce I planted, Red Sails, never did get to a decent size...next year I'm going back to my old standby, Prizehead. I ran out and took a photo of my mesclun bed, you should be able to see how closely I cut it and how tall the previous cutting has grown. BTW, I did provide filtered shade for this bed when it was hot...I placed a sheet of white plastic lattice over it, which let it sun, shade and water through. It looks pretty rough, because I just cut last night and then I dug a bunch of it up and put it in containers to hopefully transport to AZ! We are expecting temps back up in the low 70s with lows in the 40s again, so I've moved the seedlings outside. The red lettuce plants I'd put inside under the light turned green! No red in them at all. Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

This is my favorite - Orzo with feta, tomato and green onion - from Epicurious.com Yield: Makes 8 servings Ingredients 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 cup olive oil 6 cups chicken broth 1 pound orzo (or riso) 2 cups red and yellow teardrop or grape tomatoes, halved 1 7-ounce package feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 cup chopped fresh basil 1 cup chopped green onions 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted Preparation Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, and honey in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.) Bring broth to boil in large heavy saucepan. Stir in orzo, reduce heat to medium, cover partially, and boil until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to large wide bowl, tossing frequently until cool. Mix tomatoes, feta, basil, and green onions into orzo. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Add pine nuts; toss. Serve at room temperature. Bon Appétit, April 2006 by Giada De Laurentiis photo by: Victoria Pearson

Ruthanna, that corn and shrimp salad sounds amazingly good, it will be fresh sweet corn season here in a month or so and I'm going to copy this. If it's half as good as your fish with tomato basil butter, it's a winner! Marilyn, I'm also keeping the green bean salad recipe. I have 6 rows of Royal Burgundy beans about 4 inches tall right now, another month or less and I'll have all I can eat. The salad sounds, well, "flipping awesome". LOL Here are a few of my favorites. The first two came to me in a Chef's newsletter that I receive daily, a remnant of the days when I owned a bar and grille. I don't like blue (or bleu) cheese, so I leave it off. The nuts are good enough to eat by the handful. Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Spiced Candied Pecans and Raspberry Vinaigrette Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 6 ounces fresh spring mix salad blend Raspberry Vinaigrette (recipe follows) 2 ripe pears, sliced 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese 3/4 cup Candied Pecans (recipe follows) Preparation: In a large bowl, toss together the spring mix and the Raspberry Vinaigrette. Dress the top of the salad with the sliced pear, blue cheese and candied pecans. Serve at once. Raspberry Vinaigrette Ingredients: 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam 1/3 cup canola oil Preparation: Blend the vinegar and the jam in a covered blender for 10 to 15 seconds, then add the oil in a slow, steady stream. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator if not using right away. Spiced Candied Pecans Ingredients: 1/8 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper pinch cayenne 1 tablespoon butter 3/4 cups pecan halves cooking spray Preparation: Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cayenne together in bowl. Melt the butter in small skillet over medium heat and add the sugar mixture and pecans. Stir constantly, until the sugar has melted and nuts are coated. Cool on a piece of aluminum foil lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Another recipe "throw back" from the days as a restaurant owner, but this can easily be halved or more easily, divided into thirds. I leave out the olives. (Yeah, I know, I'm picky) I also sub local smoked whitefish for the salmon a lot of the time and sunflower seeds or almonds usually take the place of the pinenuts because they are extremely expensive and difficult to find here in the boonies. Smoked Salmon, Olive and Wild Rice Salad Makes 24 (8 ounce) servings Ingredients: 3/4 cup white wine vinegar 3/4 cup chopped tarragon 1/2 cup (3 ounces) chopped shallots 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil 1/3 cup chopped chives, 1/4-inch 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 4 1/2 quarts (4 1/2 pounds) cooked long grained white rice 1 1/2 quarts (2 1/4 pounds) cooked wild rice 3 pounds hot smoked salmon, flaked into 1-inch pieces 1 1/2 quarts (1 3/4 pounds) blanched green peas 4 1/2 cups California Ripe Olives, halved 1 1/2 cups toasted pine nuts Preparation: Whisk together vinegar, tarragon, shallots, lemon juice, olive oil, chives and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add white rice, wild rice, smoked salmon, green peas, California Ripe Olives and pine nuts. Toss to evenly combine. Serve at room temperature. I love pears and have access to lots of them here in the fall. I leave the cheese out of this entirely and like to add chicken to make it a meal instead of a side dish. I usually go with the candied pecans for the nuts. My apologies, I have no idea where I got this recipe. SAUTEED PEAR SALAD Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 2-3 firm-ripe pears, cored, peeled and cut into slices 1 - 2 tablespoon honey 8 - 12 cups of salad greens and/or baby spinach leaves, rinsed and chilled 1/2 -3/4 cup each thinly sliced cucumber, carrots, and red bell peppers (optional) 4 ounces Bleu, Gorgonzola or goat cheese 1 cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts or glazed pecan pieces 1/3 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract salt and pepper to taste Instructions Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and allow to warm. Add pear slices and sauté in oil for 2 minutes on each side. Turn off heat and drizzle honey over pear slices, and gently turn pears so that it coats them on both sides. While pears are cooking, put greens and vegetables into a large salad bowl and mix well. Add warm pears, cheese, nuts and gently mix. Mix salad dressing ingredients, add juices from pan and pour over salad. Serve right away. Note: This is a great salad to prepare as a composed salad. First lay greens on plates. Add vegetables, then pear slices, then top with nuts and cheese. Drizzle salad dressing over each salad. Another fish recipe, fresh trout is easily available here through a co-worker who is also a guide fisherman. He swaps me fish for my homegrown beef, a perfect swap for both of us! Roasted Rainbow Trout and Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 1 tablespoons ground cumin 1 tablespoons ground coriander 1 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 1/2 tsp salt 6 (4 ounces each) Rainbow Trout Fillets 3 cups corn kernels, steamed 2 cups chopped fresh tomato 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans 3/4 cups diced cucumber 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion 1/3 cup chopped cilantro 1 1/2 cups Chipotle Vinaigrette, (recipe follows) 4 1/2 cups mixed salad greens avocado slices, for garnish Preparation: Mix first 4 ingredients, reserve. Place trout fillets skin-side down on a lightly oiled sheet pan, sprinkle reserved seasoning mixture on top of fillets. Bake at 450 degrees F until just done, about 5 minutes, cool slightly. Remove and discard skin, reserve. Mix corn with next 5 ingredients. Stir in vinaigrette, reserve. Line plates with salad greens. Scatter corn mixture over salad greens. Arrange cooked trout on top, whole or broken into bite size pieces. Garnish with avocado slices. Chipotle Vinaigrette Makes 1 1/2 cups Blend until smooth: 1 peeled shallot, 2 whole canned chipotle peppers, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/2 cup chopped green onion, 1/4 cup each balsamic and rice wine vinegar, 2 tsp grated lime zest and salt and pepper to taste. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in 3/4 cups olive oil. Source: Clear Springs Foods Finally, my favorite salad dressing: HONEY MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup honey 2 tbls Grey Poupon dijon mustard Combine all ingredients and store in a covered container in the refrigerator Makes 3/4 cup Annie