Salad thrift

The very first thing I grew as a child was salad. I think most of us did. Remember sowing mustard and cress onto paper towels? I still grow it. Have some on the window sill now.

The first crop I grew as an adult? You guessed it, salad! I urge you, if you don't grow your own yet give it a try. You don't need much space, you can even get results on a window sill.

My first house I lived in by myself was a small Victorian terrace, it had a tiny conservatory extension and I turned it into a greenhouse.
The rent was high and my wages low. Everything I did had to be on the cheap.
I managed to obtain some wooden veg boxes from the market and some old flower buckets. The first thing I grew was a cut and come again salad crop called saladisi.
http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/shop/5882/saladisi/
Amazing stuff, just keeps giving and worked really well in the shallow boxes.

Nowadays I've an allotment and a polytunnel. I still grow cut and come again salad. There are many more varieties nowadays, spicy leaves, oriental, lettuce so many. I've 3 pots in the polytunnel and a few rows just germinating on the allotment. Would grow just as well in a plant pot in the kitchen window too.
If you grow nothing else give it a go! Scatter the seeds thinly and a packet will last you through several sowings.
Have you seen the price of bagged salad in the supermarket? 1 pack of seeds is sa similar price and will give you months of leaves that are tastier too.

Even simpler to grow are sprouted seeds. I love alfalfa sprouts, tasty and very nutritious. I've a seed sprouter but they grow just as well in a jam jar!
Soak the seeds overnight. Drain and wait. Everyday you need to water and drain. A piece of muslin or old tights over the top of the jar lets you do this easily. Alfalfa are the easiest but you can get all sorts, grow mung beans for your own Chinese beansprouts. I'm playing with dried marrowfat peas at the moment and growing my own peashoots.

Other salad crops that are easy to grow in pots outside or into the ground if you've more space are spring onions and radishes. Radishes are always the first thing I sow outside every year. They can be ready in under a month and grow well in pots of good compost. Remember to sow thinly though or else they won't have space to fill out. Use a similar method for spring onions. They take quite a bit longer but still very easy to grow.

Let me know if you grow your own salad, what do you grow? If you need help with suggestions feel free to get in touch but please give it a try it really is simple.

Boing!

Spring has finally sprung. Can honestly say I've never been happier to see weeds grow.

This has been the coldest Spring creating the longest Winter following the wettest year ever. A nightmare to work out when to plant.

I always try to watch nature. Wait for the signs, she's good like that Old Ma Nature, giving us little pointers. The birds seem to know when to get a bit frisky. The frogs start to spawn. Ladybirds appear and everything starts to wake. This year it all took longer than usual but the signs still arrived. The most exciting being that weed seeds started to germinate meaning it was time to plant.

I decided with the cold to start more off in pots than usual. I've now got a polytunnel and kitchen full of seedlings and plants. Several varieties of tomatoes for indoor and allotment. I'm hoping for a warm summer. Optimistic maybe. Figuring a cold spring equals warm summer. I've cucumbers, lemon cucumbers. Several kinds of basil, melon, squash, courgettes, tagetes, chillies and peppers all in the kitchen window waiting for more warmth and space in the polytunnel.

The polytunnel is crammed full of trays of allotment seedlings. Climbing peas, sweet peas, broad beans, chickpeas ( experiment, first time grown) multiple varieties of brassicas and salad, sweetcorn and multi coloured popping corn, shallots and more. Slowly hardening plants off to transplant outside.

Meanwhile on the allotment I'm finally sowing into the ground. The soil feels nicely warmed. Aided by use of cloches and polythene.
Today I sowed parsnip, as always I sow quick growing radish in the same row as a marker with the parsnips sown in stations of 3 every 10cm or so along the row. I also sowed leeks and dill.
Also transplanted peas, Chinese artichokes, divided and moved globe artichokes and herbs and drank some Red Stripe.

This season is going to be a hectic one. Best stock up on more beer.