Do the Mesclun Fandango

[pigletwillie]

The term "Mesclun" comes from the Provençal word for 'mixture' and refers to a mix of young green leaves such as wild and cultivated chicory, lamb's lettuce and salad leaves, but may also include rocket, chervil, purslane and oak leaf lettuce, basically , anything you have to hand. The idea is to create a good balance of strong- and mild-flavoured greens.

I buy packets when in France but also add to the mix, seeds of the following, mustard, odds and ends of any lettuce, brassicas, plus mizuna, pak choi, even radish. Whatever you have to hand or fancy will do.

You can either fill a seed tray with potting compost and thinly scatter some seed on top before covering lightly with more compost or perlite, or do the same with a big pot or even a small patch of a bed in your garden or allotment.

After 7-14 days do another tray and keep doing so right through the summer. After 3-5 weeks, depending upon the weather, cut off the leaves when small and enjoy a fabulous tasty mesclun salad.

You will get the sweet lettuces mixed with the bitter chicorys, the peppery radish and the hot mustards. Toss in a few additions from the herb bed like sorrel and dill and it will explode with taste.

[zazen999]

In these shoes????....I don't think so

[MaureenHall]

Mmmmmmmmmmmm that sound nice!

[Eyren]

Nice idea - I was going to do something similar with leftover seeds, to provide a mix of greens for the chickens, but never got around to it. Maybe this year I will do a tray of leftovers for them and a tray of favourites for me

[lottie dolly]

your full of good idea's,keep em coming,thanks.

[scarey55]

In these shoes????....I don't think so

LoL, I love that

[Seahorse]

In these shoes????....I don't think so

Tsk. Zazen is clearly a wimp. I have donned my six inch spikes and await your arrival with rose clenched in teeth PW

Wilko had 'Mesclun' seeds very cheaply last year. I suspect not quite as good as the above but perhaps a handy base for anyone wanting to have a go?

[Flummery]

It's from the same root as the word 'maslin' which was a field sown with a mixture of grains - wheat, oats, rye etc. This was so that whatever the season something would be worth harvesting. Maslin bread is made with the resulting mix of grains (or you can do what I do and bung the ends of bread flour, oatmill flour, rye flour, barley flour etc packets in so you get a really good mixture.

[Eyren]

I'd heard of maslin bread when reading about medieval social history - but I didn't know the etymological connection - thanks, Flum!

[bazzaboy]

SO wise..., the things you learn, thanks all!

And a great and practical idea this one, highly recommended, I do something along these lines throughout the summer months (inspired by earlier talk of Wellies’ Salad Bar) using combined packs of mixed leaves which results in a wide tasty range including traditional lettuce, vegetable leaf such as carrot, beetroot, radish, spinach, kale etc, the winter salads, merveille if you want a French touch, nasturtiums for fun etc. I've even been known to eat the stuff which results which doesn't always happen with the fruit and veg... The best advice I can offer is to use a deeper than standard seedtray - say 4”, I use some spare plastic windowboxes – so the roots have space and some depth and they don’t dry out too quickly or too much time is spent mid-summer rescuing gasping salads… The other advice (which I don’t usually manage to follow myself, duh) is to remember to sow a new tray every week-to-10-days. In ‘normal’ weather conditions it will take about a month from sowing to first cropping and each tray will be at its best for a week-to-ten days.

This approach to salads is evidently catching on commercially too. Andrew Johnson of “Living Salads” (Hull) was on “Working Lunch” yesterday – he’s targeting the half a BILLION pound UK salad leaves industry (I kid you not, evidently £500,000,000 is spend annually on prepared salad leaves, anyone want to play banker?) with punnets of approx 60 seeds in growth – red chard, baby pak choi, tatsoi and golden streaks – for growing on on a windowsill and cropping with scissors as needed. Price per punnet cited on the programme was 99p though examples of less-than-major suppliers charging double that can be found on the Internet. Interesting that the programme cited only 1% of UK salad sales are currently live punnets whereas in Europe the figure is evidently nearer 25%.

So the country has some way to go even if wise Grapes know the ultimate secrets…

b.

[pigletwillie]

Tsk. Zazen is clearly a wimp. I have donned my six inch spikes and await your arrival with rose clenched in teeth PW

Oh Seahorse, your worth a bunch at least.

[zazen999]

Reviving for itchy fingered Grapes in 2010.

[grahama]

Hi all,

I am planning a continual sort of lettuce thing this year by germinating in rows, harvesting a grown row and then re planting through the warmer months. Is this sow, eat, sow eat what you are meaning when you mention preparing a new tray full??

Newbie question sorry !

Graham

[zazen999]

Hi all,

I am planning a continual sort of lettuce thing this year by germinating in rows, harvesting a grown row and then re planting through the warmer months. Is this so, eat, sow eat what you are meaning when you mention preparing a new tray full??

Newbie question sorry !

Graham

Same sort of idea, personally I sow all my stuff into modules and plant out when the danger of slug attack is minimised as I've lost so much to slugs.

Just sow every fortnight. If you wait until the first is ready for eating, then you won't have enough time to grow the second batch before you need it.

[grahama]

Right got ya. Continual modules throughout summer it is then !!

Graham