This is the first winter that I have had my two raised vegetable garden beds, so I am thrilled every time I get a harvest. For Christmas dinner I harvested one head each of three different leaf lettuces. This was more than enough for a beautiful, multi colored and textured salad for 4, with leftovers. Each lettuce harvest actually has been the thinning of the full lettuce crop: the first harvest was every other tiny head, leaving room for the remaining plants to expand. The plants from the next harvest (again, every other plant) were bigger, and so on. Each harvest thins the lettuce and leaves additional room for the remaining heads to grow. Also on Christmas day I was able to harvest the lower leaves of two different collard plants. They made an exceptionally sweet collard greens side dish. Since I got everything in late this fall, no other vegetables were ready for harvest. Honey from the two hives was a great addtion to breakfast tea and breads. My fall honey quickly crystallized to a wonderful semi-solid creamed honey: I think I may prefer it to the liquid honey from the earlier harvests.
