Growing Lettuce, Spinach and Potatoes with Julia Dimakos

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses growing fresh staples like lettuce, spinach and potatoes with “The Gardening Girl” Julia Dimakos.

About Julia Dimakos

Julia Dimakos’ 7000 square foot kitchen garden is in Mono, Ontario, on 25 acres on the Niagara Escarpment. Julia has been growing vegetables and writing about gardening for over 14 years. She was twice published in Canadian Organic Grower magazine and became a published author in July 2022 with her first book, Tea Gardening for Beginners.

In this episode, Joanne asked Julia about a few things we can grow ourselves instead of buying from the grocery store. 

Lettuce 

• If we start now, lettuce is one of the fastest-growing options.
• Julia explains how easy it is to grow and which varieties to grow throughout the seasons.
• It is important to start with fresh seeds, so buy a new packet instead of using seeds from an old package.
  • Multi-sowing is an easy way to get started.
  • Fill a small, shallow container with soil, a moist seed starting mix.
  • Compact the soil. Sprinkle a generous amount of seed on top of the soil.
  • Julia explains how and why to sprinkle a layer of vermiculite on top of the seed, then water gently.
  • Label and date your tray, then add a dome or clear cover. Put them under a grow light 2 inches above the soil to prevent the seedlings from stretching toward the light.
  • Grow lights should be on a timer, 16 hours on and 8 hours off.
  • Get a multicell container ready for when true leaves start to grow on the seedlings.
  • Take the cover off when you see germination. Carefully lift out the seedlings by the leaf before their true leaves form to make it easier to separate and to successfully grow in the cell.  
• Lettuce produces more roots than you think, and they do not like competition.
• Julia explains the best way to succession plant a continuous crop. They go from seed to plant in the ground in 3 weeks.
• They can be planted successfully in an ornamental garden shaded by other plants.
• Julia also discusses how to save your own seeds, and recommends buttercrunch, iceberg, Lollo, oak leaf varieties are perfect growing in the cooler spring weather. 
• In the summer, try romaine varieties like little gem, shady spot or merlot.
• Grow in partial shade and or under other plants, e.g. tomato plants.
• Harvest right into a bowl of ice-cold water. Clean in a salad spinner.
• You can store freshly harvested lettuce in a Ziplock bag full of air for 1 week.
• In August, start growing the cooler varieties again, up until a hard frost.

Spinach 

• Julia explains how growing spinach is different from growing lettuce: it is not interested i