Crunch time

Salad greens are so easy and quick to grow you’d be mad not to discard store-bought bags and grow your own!

Once you start growing your own salad greens, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner. They’re ready to harvest in a few short weeks and by sowing regularly, you can ensure year-round pickings.

 

Planting & Caring

Grow them in full sun in spring anywhere you can fit them in: a pot, planter box, polystyrene box, window box, patch of garden. Planting seedlings is quickest, and sowing seeds directly onto the soil is cheapest. Sow a quarter of the seed packet each month for an ongoing supply. Label the patch, but don’t worry about correct spacing. Gently cover with a light sprinkling of seed-raising mix. In cool areas, germination can be hurried along with a sheet of glass or clear plastic placed 10cm above the seed bed to create glasshouse conditions. Water every third day with a fine spray. As they grow, thin seedlings out and eat them in a mixed micro-green salad. Speed production with regular feeds of seaweed solution or dilute worm wee.

 

Harvest

Harvesting strategies differ depending on the variety. The outside leaves of hearting lettuce, such as cos and iceberg, can be cut as needed. Alternatively, cut the whole heart, leaving a few of the outer leaves. A new heart will regrow on the old root system in four weeks’ time. Alternatively, cutand-come-again leaves, such as rocket and mizuna, can be slashed with scissors and will regrow immediately. For the strong-tasting mustards, use the young fresh leaves, rather than the strong, older, outer leaves. After picking, wash well, and dry gently in a salad spinner, or a tea towel whizzed around outside.

 

Varieties

Green leafy fillers

These leaves are the backbone of my salads: feather-leafed mizuna and ‘Oakleaf’; and crunchy ‘Cos’ (also known as ‘Romaine’) which is perfect with bacon bits, avocado and a creamy dressing.

 

Peppery salad greens

These include the larger-leaf ‘salad’ and finer-leaf ‘wild’ rocket (or rocquette), which complement Italian dishes topped with shaved parmesan or peppered pecorino.

 

Bitter leaves

This family includes baby beetroot leaves, witlof, red radicchio, and mustard leaves (both the fine and broad-leaf varieties). They give a real kick to a salad served with roast beef. Wilted warm radicchio with a balsamic rosemary dressing is a winter favourite at our place. Warning: mustard leaves, with a flavour like horseradish, are not for the faint-hearted!

 

Soft buttery types

Velvet-textured leaves, such as ‘Freckles’, ‘Butter’ and ‘Mignonette’, are delicious with chicken and in a BLT. Add tang with the lemony-zing of sorrel leaves, which also adds depth to spinach pies, soup, quiches, spanakopita and a sorrel version of pesto.

Top tips

• Protect salad seedlings from snails and slugs with coffee grounds spread around plants.

• As summer temperatures climb, plant salad greens in the shade of other vegetables such as tomatoes, beans and peas.