Growing winter lettuce

Want the taste of fresh lettuce all year round?  This winter I made several trips to my parents house in South Eastern Ohio.  We shared a lot of delicious meals together, including Italian pasta dishes, home made bread and fresh salads from the garden.  What a delight to enjoy the fresh taste of lettuce during the winter!

My mother, Peggy, has a wonderful three level garden....which she fills with fresh herbs, flowers, and lettuce greens.  During the winter she plants small lettuce plants and covers them with plastic sheets resting on pvc pipe.  She runs heat tapes throughout which she plugs into a nearby outlet in her basement.  An alternative, she told me, would be to dig a deep bed and add manure and soil to keep them warm.