Why Salad Leaves Reward the Regular Sower

Few things in the kitchen garden give back quite as generously as a packet of salad seed. A row of cut-and-come-again lettuce sown in April can be picked within six or seven weeks, and if you keep the sowings coming, you need never buy a limp bag of leaves again. The secret, and it really is the whole secret, is to sow little and often rather than emptying the packet in one enthusiastic afternoon.

Sow the lot at once and you will face a glut in July followed by a barren patch in August once the plants bolt. Sow a short drill every fortnight or three weeks, though, and you stagger the harvest beautifully. The leaves stay young, tender and sweet, which is exactly what a salad leaf should be.

Choosing What to Sow

Loose-leaf lettuces are the backbone of any cut-and-come-again patch. Look for the non-hearting types, often sold as 'salad bowl' mixtures, because you can take a few outer leaves from each plant and leave the crown to regrow. They will crop two or three times before finally running to seed.

Beyond lettuce, there is a whole cast of characters worth a place in the row:

• Rocket – peppery and fast, ready in as little as three weeks in warm weather.
• Mizuna and mibuna – mild, frilly Japanese greens that shrug off a touch of cold.
• Spinach and perpetual spinach – the latter is really a leaf beet, but it keeps going for months.
• Corn salad (lamb's lettuce)
• Mustard greens – fiery, and best used sparingly in a mixed bowl.
• Pak choi – quick growing, though best sown after midsummer to avoid bolting.

Mixing a few of these together in the same drill gives you a varied bowl from a single cut, and it confuses the pests that home in on one particular scent.

Preparing the Ground and Sowing in Shallow Drills

Salad leaves have small root systems, so they need soil that is fine, moist and reasonably fertile. Fork over the bed, break down any clods and rake until the surface is crumbly. A bucket of well-rotted compost per square metre worked into the top few inches is plenty; too much nitrogen and the leaves become soft and prone to aphids.

Now draw your drills. Shallow is the word here, roughly 1cm deep and no more. Use the corner of a hoe or the handle of a rake to pull a straight line, spacing drills about 15cm apart. Sow the seed thinly along the drill, aiming for a seed every centimetre or so; thick sowing leads to weak, leggy seedlings that damp off before you can eat them. Cover with a fine sift of soil, firm gently with the back of the rake and water with a soft rose. Germination is quick in warm soil, often within a week.

Keeping the Crop Coming

The golden rule is to sow a short drill every two to three weeks from early March right through to late August. In midsummer, when the soil is warm, a fortnight is right; in spring and late summer, stretch it to three weeks. Mark the date on a label so you do not lose track.

Choose varieties to suit the season. Summer sowings want bolt-resistant types, because lettuce turns bitter and shoots skywards once the days get long and hot. From July onwards, switch to the hardier winter sorts and corn salad, which will stand through the colder months under a cloche or a fleece tunnel.

If you garden on an allotment with limited bed space, do not devote a whole plot to salad. Tuck a short drill between slower crops such as brassicas or leeks, or use the edge of a raised bed. Salad leaves are happy as a catch crop, and they will be finished long before the neighbours need the room.

Watering, Thinning and Cutting

Regular watering makes all the difference to tenderness. Dry soil stresses the plants and pushes them towards bolting, so aim to keep the top inch of soil consistently damp, especially during dry spells. A good soak every few days beats a daily sprinkle, as it encourages roots to go deeper.

Thin the seedlings once they are large enough to handle, leaving loose-leaf types about 15cm apart and rocket about 10cm. Do not throw the thinnings away; wash them and they make a fine early salad. Keep on top of weeds while the plants are small, as they compete fiercely for moisture.

Harvest by taking a few outer leaves from each plant with a sharp knife or a pinch of the fingers, always leaving the growing centre intact. Alternatively, cut the whole row about 3cm above soil level and it will regrow for a second or third cut. Pick in the cool of the morning if you can, and rinse the leaves in cold water before they reach the kitchen.

Watch for slugs after rain, and for aphids in the growing tips during warm spells. A quick check every couple of days keeps trouble small. Keep sowing, keep watering, and the reward is a bowl of fresh, tender leaves from spring right through to the first frosts.