Bulbs under salad crop in pot

[lonedwarf]

I was thinking about planting late autumn or winter flowering bulbs like snow drops in the pots I use for summer salad leaves. Would this be ok? The idea being that the pots would be productive during the summer and then would be filled with winter colour.

[Zelenina]

It's an interesting idea, lonedwarf. Perhaps the lack of replies so far means no-one else here has ever thought of doing it. So maybe the only way to find out if it'll work is to try it.

I should think you would need to check what kinds of conditions the bulbs need to stay alive during the summer, and whether that's compatible with the growing conditions of the salad leaves you pair them with.

For instance, the snowdrops in my garden grow in a shady place, so maybe they wouldn't like to be exposed to hot sunshine in the summer. Or they might not like the level of nutrients required for the greens, or the amount of watering. It could work great if you can find kinds of salads and bulbs that get on well together.

[lonedwarf]

Thank you Zelenina
Yes perhaps snowdrops wouldn't be appropriate for my south facing terrace.
I was just interested if this was something others did as I drew a blank when I googled it.

[Jungle Jane]

Lettuce in a pot needs alot of watering would that be ok for the bulbs? I don't know,if they're continually wet would they rot? Gravel under the bulbs would help them a bit but I wonder would they be ok? Are the bulbs treated with anything that you wouldn't want near edibles? Some bulbs say wear gloves but I can't remember why & I don't. Is it to do with fungicides?

[veggiechicken]

Most winter flowering bulbs seem to be planted in autumn, so you would have to remove your salad to plant the bulbs. The bulbs would die back in spring but you'd need to let the leaves die back naturally to feed the bulbs up for next year. Then you could bung in a few lettuces but there wouldn't be a lot of room for roots.
I wouldn't bother!

[lonedwarf]

Thank you all for your thoughts.
It's not something that people do...probably for good reason. I may still give it a go as an experiment provided I can find the right bulbs and they aren't potentially harmful.

[muddled]

I really hope it does work because its a lovely idea!
Do please let us know because if you succeed I will certainly copy you.

Does it have to be bulbs?
Are there other types of flowers that will perhaps work better?