Yeah, I'm still going on about salad. Firstly, I hope you all have a copy of this book. I know it's winter, but salad is one of the few fresh things you can just keep on growing and growing over the cold months. And, frankly, what with people going on about the Wall Street Crash this week a little bit too much for my liking, I'm deeply ready for being distracted by the idea of growing something tasty and green that costs about 5p.
Everybody knows that bags of pre-washed salad are one of the biggest rip-offs in the supermarket, but it's hard to get motivated to grow your own. However I think Charles Dowding does a wicked job in this book.
The secret to winter salad seems to be to get the sowing schedule right. You can do a big lot all in one go, but actually what you need is to sow regularly. This is particularly true in winter because the leaves take much longer to grow, so if you leave a gap of a week in sowing you'll have a three-week gap in picking. And best thing about winter salad: it's so spicy that slugs and snails take no notice of it! HURRRAAYYYYYYYY.
So my question to you now is: what are the tastiest mixes you've tried for winter leaves? I'm growing a really nice red mustard mix from Jekka's Herb Farm and a Seeds of Italy lamb's tongue, but I'd appreciate any tips for, or warnings against other packets.
PS. On Charles D's jobs for the month he says the ninth is the perfect day to get the garlic in if you garden by the light of the moon.
Every year I have a New Year's Resolution that says:
'This year I will be much better with my successional sowing, especially salad leaves'.
I manage about 2 lots of sowing and then get weighed down with loads of other gardening jobs. Sigh. How do others manage it?
I prefer the single variety seed packets. There's always something in the mixture ones that I don't particularly like. I did manage a 12 leaf salad for a few weeks this year that I was particularly proud of:
wild rocket, oak leaf lettuce, mizuna, little gem lettuce, red veined sorrel, red leafed lettuce, bulls blood beetroot, coriander, fennel, nasturtium (flower and leaf), land cress and endive. Some of this was by accident as the fennel, rocket and nasturtiums were self-sown!
Posted by: VP | Thursday, 09 October 2008 at 07:36 PM
You are a salad genius! Now all you have to do is get it going all the time... I know what you mean about the successional sowing. WHY CAN'T WE GET THE HANG OF IT???
I wonder whether anyone actually does do it well?
Posted by: emma townshend | Friday, 10 October 2008 at 11:08 AM
So glad it's not just me who is a failure on successional sowings - I managed it on the broad beans this year, but always fail on salads. I got sick of broad beans too.
Posted by: HappyMouffetard | Friday, 10 October 2008 at 12:55 PM
Hi,
It's interesting, you gvie me a good suggestion to make the comming winner days more fruitful and cute.希望每个被股票打败的人，可以从中寻找到生命的真谛。
Posted by: 秦文平 | Saturday, 11 October 2008 at 07:06 PM
HOW CAN YOU GET SICK OF BROAD BEANS??
????
?????
Posted by: emma townshend | Monday, 13 October 2008 at 03:37 PM
Such consolation to see that successional sowing foxes everyone. I suspect the secret is container planting in the garden rather than on the allotment. I always forget to take the seeds I need at the right time.
Posted by: colleen | Tuesday, 14 October 2008 at 01:08 AM
What about the proposal that Charles Dowding put forward in the Garden a couple of issues back? We obtain polysterene fish boxes from our local Oyster dealer / wine cases from our local Champagne merchant, and then sow in them in the garden, one each week for six weeks, then start again as we begin harvesting? It ought to be easy - and maybe you (and CD) are right, garden is the way forward rather than allotment.
Posted by: emma townshend | Wednesday, 15 October 2008 at 09:27 PM
No, I didn't think you could get sick of broad beans either. However, this year, I ran the full gamut of broad bean recipes. I really do enjoy slipping the skins off them, leaving the bright green tender insides to eat.
Posted by: HappyMouffetard | Thursday, 16 October 2008 at 08:21 AM
There's a great article in this month's The Garden on how to grow soya beans. Edamame are my favourite thing and up till now, those green broad bean insides ahve been the only possible substitute.
Posted by: emma townshend | Thursday, 23 October 2008 at 10:18 AM