VOA慢速英语:In the Garden: Growing Your Own Lettuce

MIRANDA (TV's "Sex and the City"): "I'll start with a salad with extra blue-cheese dressing, thank you."
MIRANDA（电视剧“欲望都市”片段）：“我先来份沙拉，多加蓝芝士调味酱，谢谢。”

Many people have lettuce in a salad at the beginning of a meal. The ancient Egyptians and Romans had it at the end. Either way, gardening experts say lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to grow in a garden.
许多人在吃晚餐的时候会先吃一些生菜沙拉。古代埃及人和古代罗马人却是在晚餐的最后才吃。无论哪种方式，园艺专家说，生菜是菜园里最容易种植的蔬菜之一。

There are hundreds of kinds of head and leaf lettuces besides the most popular choices, like iceberg, Boston, bibb and romaine. The best time to plant the seeds is during cool weather. Gardening advisers at the University of Illinois Extension say the best planting temperature is fifteen degrees Celsius.
生菜有几百种，最常见的有卷心生菜，波士顿生菜，比布生菜和长叶生菜。播种的最佳时间是在凉爽的时候。伊利诺伊大学分校的园艺顾问表示，最佳的种植温度是15摄氏度。

You can use a seed tray to start the seeds indoors. The container should be deep enough to hold at least three centimeters of soil. Leave about one centimeter of space between the soil and the top of the container. The container should have holes in the bottom so extra water can flow out.
你可以首先在室内使用播种盘育种。这个容器应该能够足够容纳至少3厘米深的土壤。土壤和容器顶部之间要留有一厘米的空间。容器底部要留有小孔，以便多余水分的排出。

Cover the seeds lightly with soil. If the soil is not already a little wet, give it some water, but not too much. Too much water could drown the seeds.
在土壤表面散上种子，然后用土壤轻轻盖好。如果土壤不湿润，就浇上一些水，但是不要过量。否则，种子会被淹死。

Next, cover the seed tray with paper. Remove the paper when the seedlings are tall enough to touch it. You can transplant the seedlings into the garden when they are about two to three centimeters tall. Do this when the weather is not too hot and not too cold.
接着，用纸把盛种子的容器盖住。当幼苗长到能接触到这张纸时，就把纸张拿掉。当幼苗生长到两三厘米高时，你就可以把幼苗移栽到菜园中了，但是要在温度适宜的天气进行。

Take out as much of the soil as you can with the seedlings. Plant them in the ground in a hole that is bigger than the lettuce roots. Keep the plants watered, but not too heavily.
移栽时幼苗的根部要尽量多带些土壤。然后在菜地中挖一个比生菜根部大一些的孔，将幼苗放进去，再浇适量的水。

Planting seeds every week or two will provide a continuous supply of lettuce to harvest.
每周或每两周播一些种，你就可以接连不断地进行收获。

Harvest leaf lettuces when the leaves are big enough to eat. Pull the leaves from the outside of the plant so the inner leaves will keep growing. Or cut off the whole plant but leave about two or three centimeters so it will regrow. Cut off head lettuces at ground level.
当叶子长到能食用的时候，就可以采收叶用生菜了。摘掉生菜外部的叶子，这样生菜的内部仍然可以生长。或者，你也可以切掉整株生菜，地面上留两到三厘米根茎，生菜也能继续生长。如果是头状生菜，沿着地面切掉。

Lettuce is best when served fresh. The remainder should be stored in a refrigerator in a plastic bag.
新鲜的生菜食用是最好的。将剩余的生菜用塑料袋装好放在冰箱里。这样能至少保存几天，甚至更长时间。