Who came up with the idea of summer salads? I mean lettuce and radishes ripen in spring, cucumbers come later, and tomatoes and peppers the latest of all. Nobody’s getting together in a salad bowl, I can tell you. Most lettuce greens won’t even germinate above 80F. So here’s what you do: Germinate them indoors. You won’t need lights or anything. Once they come up, take them out for a little morning sun, with a spritzer to keep them cool. Then transplant to a spot in the garden (or anywhere) out of the hot afternoon sun.

Harvest with scissors when they’re itty-bitty. Then harvest again, and again, and again, keeping those babies nice and moist regularly. Add arugula, maybe some mizuna or other wierd greens, a few other types of lettuce (romaine loves the heat), and some dill.

Yum.