Winter greens

The Solstice is not quite here, but in honor of the start of winter and the shortest day of the year tomorrow, the deep freeze has started to reverse itself. The temperatures are above freezing, the winter moths are back at the lights, and the snow is beginning to disappear. The white blanket is already gone from the top of the cold frame, so the incredibly hardy plants inside are now visible without having to take off the window sash. Clearly, several varieties of lettuce are as tough as advertised, particularly the Claytonia, whose common name is Miner's Lettuce and, according to legend, helped the gold miners survive off the land in nineteenth-century California. I started the plants from seed in early October and the entirely delectable leaves are just about prime for an unexpected almost-winter harvest.