If you’ve tried growing leafy salad crops such as rocket in summer, you’ve probably been disappointed. When the days are long and warm the plants tend to bolt – that is throw up a flower head, rather than produce plentiful leaves. What’s more, those leaves that do grow are often pockmarked with holes made by flea beetle, an insect pest that thrives in hot, dry, weather. For these reasons I mainly grow lettuce as a summer leaf salad. Rocket and its leafy friends are for the cooler seasons and it’s now, as summer fades into autumn, that I start sowing these crops. Starting in batches from late August is possible, especially if an undercover growing space such as a greenhouse is available, allowing you to have leafy green salads to pick all through winter.
Although a greenhouse is ideal, many leafy salads will happily grow outside until the weather gets really cold. These include rocket, mizuna and various mustard greens. Sow seeds thinly in shallow drills (lines) watering the bottom if the soil is dry, to aid germination. Seedlings should appear within a week or so and grow away without bolting and serious pest damage, although slugs and especially wood pigeons can be a menace. The first leaves should be ready for picking in early October. Depending on weather conditions it may be possible to continue harvesting quality leaves until early December. After this, outdoor leafy salad tends to struggle, but if left in the ground some types may produce a fresh flush of harvestable leaves in early spring.
Where a greenhouse or similar undercover space, such as a garden frame, is available leafy salads can be even more effortlessly grown through autumn and winter. No heating is required. The protection provided by the glass and the warmth of the sun on clear winter days will be sufficient to keep the plants ticking over. If the greenhouse is totally paved, pots or grow bags previously used for summer crops such as tomatoes can be used. All that’s needed is to fluff up the compost in the pot or bag. As long as the earlier crop wasn’t starved, there should be enough nutrients remaining to keep most salad leaves growing. And if tomatoes or other summer crops are still producing when you’re set to sow, either start in small pots for later transplanting or delay. I continue to sow salads such as rocket inside until mid-October and usually still have leaves big enough to pick before Christmas.
As for what to grow, rocket is a favourite. Mizuna is also good and fast growing. Various types of mustards will give more of a punch to a mixed salad. I prefer the frilly ones with either green/yellow or purple leaves. Another staple for me is spinach and chard cut when the leaves are still small. Both these will grow quite happily in a greenhouse through the winter.
Growing salad leaves to pick into winter is one of my gardening hobbyhorses; indeed, if you’re an avid reader of this column you may have noticed it’s been mentioned before. What amazes me is that so few gardeners grow these easy crops. In particular, if you have a greenhouse why leave it forlorn and empty over the winter? For the cost of a few packets of seeds, you can pick salads far more cheaply and far more freshly than you can get from any supermarket.
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