Last year my father built me some growing boxes from old wooden pallets which were going unused. I love a bit of recycling and am increasingly becoming more like my Dad in the way that I can't throw something away until I've at least tried to turn it into something different and more useful.
These new boxes of mine are brilliant; they're 25 inches long, 16 inches wide and 12 inches deep and can be used to grow herbs, radish, spring onions and garlic.
With summer just around the corner, cut and come again varieties of leaves will be the perfect addition to any kitchen garden. Easily grown in containers, growing your own salad bar couldn't be easier: a few seeds, some water and sunshine and you have your own summer-long supply of delicious salads in as little as 8-weeks! With regular sowings made each fortnight, you can ensure a continuous supply of fresh, crisp salads throughout the summer months.
Here are some suggestions of types of leaves that you can grow.
Leaves
Corn Salad (also known as Lamb's Lettuce): one of my favourite salad leaves to have. Very easily grown, delicious small leaves and is winter hardy so you can enjoy lettuce through the colder months. I'm in Wales, and colder months include the summer. This salad leaf is a winning choice as it can be sown and grown all year round.
Rocket: another fantastic leaf which is a necessity for any salad (I think), rocket adds a peppery, tangy flavour. It's also good on pizzas and in pasta dishes.
When I was in uni, I used to live with a girl called Lottie in my first year. She used to make this pasta dish which was out of this world tasty and I still make it to this day. It was a prawn linguini with lemon zest, mozzarella and rocket in a tomato sauce. It's actually one of the most memorable meals I have from my 3 years in University! That's another brilliant use for rocket.
Rocket can be sown and grown all year round.
Spinach: spinach will need a little more space than other lettuces or leaves. I am going to allow a whole box just for spinach. As we all know, as soon as spinach starts cooking it reduces down into nothing, so a fair amount of spinach will be needed. If it's solely for salads, a few plants will probably sustain you quite happily. In our house, spinach is eaten in the kilo's, usually on a Sunday evening in the form of Eggs Florentine, and often in curries or just in salads. It can be grown from March onwards, and harvested throughout the summer.
* Spinach Beet, or Perpetual Spinach, is a delicious spinach substitute (and easier to grow). Sow from March onwards.
Mizuna: this is an oriental leaf with a mild, spicy flavour. Baby leaves can be used in salads and larger leaves can be used in stir-fries. Sow from March onwards and pick a few leaves from each plant when approximately 4" high, and for the mature leaves, harvest the whole plant from May onwards.
Lettuce Heads
Lettuce "All Year Round": does what the name says pretty much. Perfect for spring, summer and autumn snowing giving you a year round supply of crisp lettuce heads. As these are whole lettuce heads, more space will be needed for them to be able to grow to a nice size. I would probably be able to fit 2, maybe 3, in one of the wooden boxes I have, they need around 12" of space each.
Lettuce "Little Gem": one of my favourite lettuces, Little Gem in a definite for this year's garden. Again, sow from March onwards and harvest from May. The little seedlings for Little Gem and also the All Year Round lettuce will need to be thinned so as not to cramp the plants: seedlings will need around 12" of space each. Although lettuce heads take up more space than "cut and come again" leaves, continuous sowing each fortnight will guarantee a continuous source. Seedlings can always be grown in cell trays or smaller pots and transplanted to the Salad Box when a lettuce has been harvested and there is space available.
Salad Leaf Mixtures
These are particularly brilliant if you really don't have much space but want an assortment of leaves available on your windowsill or patio. Simply sow the seeds on a fortnightly basis for a continuous supply, and watch a whole variety of delicious salads grow in one container. Ingenious.
Mixed Green Leaves: Mr. Fothergills "Mixed Lettuce Green Leaves" is a brilliant way to get a variation of lettuce leaves from one packet. Sow them from March onwards and have a ready-to-eat salad bowl of 6 different leaves. What could be easier?
Mesclun: this is another mish-mash of small, young salad leaves which originated in Provence, France. The traditional mix includes; chervil, rocket, leafy lettuces and endive in equal proportions. However, modern assortments can contain lettuces, mustard greens, endive, mizuna, lamb's lettuce, radicchio, sorrel and dandelion. I assume that my packet of Mesclun is the modern variety as it came free in my gardening magazine. Sow from March onwards, and enjoy your Provence-inspired salads.
Mustard "Oriental Mix": a spicy blend of oriental mustard leaves such as red giant, red and green frills and pizzo, these quick growing leaves are perfect for fresh salads or in stir-fries. Sow from March onwards, and use when needed.
I can't wait to see my Salad Bar grow this summer and to be able to pick fresh leaves for BBQ salads and sandwiches and lunches and all sorts.
Ruth
