I need help. Badly. You see, it's the lettuce. It' s growing really well, and I've just harvested a bowl full. What's the problem with that, you say?! Well, it's the washing of the lettuce. I've never really had to think about it before, because I've never been successful with lettuce until now. Either I've tried to grow it on too little water in weather that's too warm. Or I've grown it with proper cool temperatures and enough water, but it was infested with caterpillars. (Not just a couple that I could pick off, I'm talking about an all-out invasion.) That's why I've never gotten to this point of lettuce-washing-indecision before. And ok, I'll go ahead and admit it, I'm a bit of a germ-o-phob. (Anybody seen the Seinfeld episode with Putty and Elaine's co-worker? Well, I'm at Putty's level.) It's true that I've become a little bit more relaxed about "germs" over the last few years. And it's not like there's chemicals on the leaves. But still. It's dirt.For some reason, I find it easy to trust the package of lettuce from the grocery store or the head of lettuce from the farmer's market. But my own lettuce does not come in a plastic package or from a "real" farmer. And with all of the rain we've received lately, a lot of dirt has splashed up onto the leaves. So I thought about carefully washing each individual leaf. Is this crazy? Is it even enough to get the dirt off? I have a salad spinner, so I could just soak and spin the leaves in it... Is just cold water enough? What about possible bird poo and the neighborhood cats that may have visited? Oh, no, germ-o-phobia is rising! Please help!
