21/08/2026
This lettuce was self-sown amongst a bed of rocket and ignored as it was not near the other lettuces when we were harvesting. However, yesterday I decided to harvest it and take it home for myself as I wanted to give the rocket more room to grow. The centre was perfect but as I cut off the bedraggled outer leaves I noticed that as it was quite an advanced lettuce, under stress and due to flower soon, the aphids had moved in. Not to worry I thought, they are only on this one lettuce. A moment later I was even happier as I saw 3 or 4 ladybirds amongst the leaves eating the aphids. This is a classic sign of a healthy farm ecosystem, where sprays aren’t used and nature takes care of itself. It takes years to achieve this balance in the garden but removing all sprays and human pest control eventually pays off and you see balanced insect life, which in turn feeds birds and pollinates your veggies. Well worth it!
