The salad crops that provide rich pickings
MIXED salad leaves are a shopping-list staple for many people, but in my opinion, those airfilled bags sold in supermarkets are a big disappointment. Once open, the deflated pillows reveal their sorry contents: often a stingy number of limp, bland leaves that can turn into sludge within a few days.
Fortunately, there’s a clever way for gardeners to ensure salad leaves always come up to scratch… by growing your own from seeds.
Sow a pinch in a sunny spot now and you’ll be harvesting handfuls of fresh, tasty leaves within just 21 days, and the plants will provide pickings for about three weeks before they run out of steam.
Those with plenty of space can raise mixed salad leaves in the ground, whether that’s a vegetable patch, allotment or raised bed. However, their compact nature and shallow rooting make them ideal for all sorts of containers, such as pots, hanging baskets, growing bags and window boxes.
Another benefit of growing your own is that you can choose from a wide range of packets containing seed blends that vary in taste and looks. Major seed companies offer everything from mild mixes composed of pak choi, chervil and mizuna, to fiery blends made up of different types of mustard, sorrel and rocket.
Seeds can be sown directly into the soil any time from early spring until mid-autumn. To ensure they germinate, fork over the ground, break up large clods and rake the soil vigorously. The ground is ready when the surface is level and the top 2-3in has the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.
Use the corner of the rake head to make short rows, half an inch deep, and sow seeds thinly along its length. Carefully cover with soil and soak with a watering can fitted with a sprinkler. Thin out seedlings when they are about 1in tall, following the instructions for spacing on the back of the packet.
Another option is to raise in containers. Almost fill with compost, leaving a 1in gap at the top. Press down gently to leave a flat, firm surface. Scatter seeds across the surface and cover with a layer of sieved compost. Label, water and place in a sunny position.
Thin out seedlings when they are large enough to handle.
Start to harvest plants when they are about 2in tall – either snip off a few individual leaves as required, or cut the whole plant off leaving a half-inch stump – new leaves will soon resprout from the cut end.
Once plants start to flower, the leaves will turn bitter, so pull them up and put on the compost heap.
To avoid buying any bags of leaves from shops this summer, generate a constant supply of your own by sowing seeds every two to three weeks. Known to old hands as successional sowing, this technique will ensure there are more pickings ready at a time when the initial batch is coming to an end.