All year round salad setup?

[Berry99]

Hi all,

First post here, from a brand new gardener eager to get started but a bit confused by all the options!

Basically I'm looking to grow a range of salad greens (lettuce, chard, spinach, orientals) to feed myself and a selection of hungry chooks!

I have a lovely bare veg patch ready and waiting and have real beginners enthusiasm but was disappointed to find out I can't really get started sowing into the earth until April/May time (I'm in Scotland).

I've been eying up all these 'year round' covered salad box things and cloches/blowaways/coldframes...but I'm a bit confused by all the choice. Do these let you plant sooner, or just extend the growing season outwards into the autumn?

Does anyone have any recommendations for a beginner salad setup that wouldn't cost the earth and would let me get started growing something this month?

Thanks

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine

Yes - blowaways, cloches etc are all aimed at extending the season. If you want to grow a little before the main season you can grow microgreens (diddy veg plants), pea shoots and cut and come again salad on a windowsill. If you have a mooch around I am sure you will finds lots of tips and tricks that will help.

[Zelenina]

Hi Berry. I don't know how cold it is where you are, but if your ground isn't frozen you could try sowing lamb's lettuce (also called corn salad or mache) because it loves cold weather. I sowed some in my garden a few years ago and it self seeds every year when the weather gets warmer. The seeds then stay dormant, so I can plant other stuff where it was, and germinate very early in spring whenever the temperature is right for it, even this year when we had a very cold winter, I have a good crop already. Mine is a variety called Dutch long-leaved.

Not exactly salads, but you could probably also sow broad beans now and the hardier types of peas like Meteor and Douce Provence.

Lettuce and chard can be started indoors, then they'll be ready for transplanting outside next month. Probably oriental greens too, but I think spinach doesn't like transplanting.

[Berry99]

Thanks for the advice - will be on the lookout for some cut and come again salads and definitely lambs lettuce is on the list to give a try!

[Zelenina]

And there's miners' lettuce as well. And don't forget kale. The main kale sowing season is later in the year to get plants for overwintering, but you can start some now for spring greens.

If you can find any spring planting garlic I think you could plant that outdoors now too. It's supposed to be very good for chooks. They might also like spring onions and chives and various kinds of herbs.