August is a time of abundance. The soil is warm so germination and initial growth is speedy. As light levels decrease and the temperature drops, growth slows — and so although the winter still seems so far away, now is the time to sow winter salads and greens for a supply of home-grown leaves throughout autumn and winter.
I always start with cut-and-come-again lettuces. Many come as seed mixes, others are sold by individual varieties; there is an overwhelming choice out there. Look out for lamb’s lettuce (also know as corn salad), stalwart of the bagged salad, with its mild flavour and rosettes of glossy, dark green, round leaves; it is great to use to to bulk out more interesting and flavourful leaves. Winter purslane is another important staple. One of the hardiest of all winter leaves, these dinky, heart-shaped leaves can be grown all year round and harvested as a cut-and-come-again salad. Mizuna will also generate plenty of greenery to bulk out your bowl. As with all cut-and-come-again salads, harvest every 3-4 days for a constant supply.
Winter is always a time when I want my salad to be bursting with flavour, so I plant a lot of spicy leaves: varieties that have a real kick. Rocket is perhaps the best known of these and salad rocket is the variety to grow at this time of year. Land cress, often described as a watercress substitute, is another leaf that will crop right through the winter. It likes a cool spot, in part-shade, so it is one winter leaf you can grow even if you don’t expect much sunshine. Finally, mustard greens: as important for colour as they are for flavour. These easy-to-grow leaves are most commonly available as a pre-selected mixture that should include the winter-hardy ‘Red Frills’ or ‘Red Giant’. Less well known, perhaps, is the wonderful Japanese mustard spinach, komatsuna, which can be planted in full sun or semi-shade, has excellent frost tolerance and can be grown as a baby leaf or vegetable.
Don’t forget to grow some herbs to add to your salad, too. Flat-leaved parsley is rather susceptible to the cold, so winter sees me return to the traditional curly variety — which is much hardier. I often sow a new crop of chervil, parsley and coriander in August or September, and with the protection of a cloche or fleece tunnel, can harvest them right through the winter. Buckler leaved sorrel is another favourite; the lemony leaves of this perennial are winter-hardy and delicious but should be used sparingly as they are high in oxalic acid. Occasionally growth is stalled by a cold snap, but I continue to be amazed how some of these leaves just thaw right out or start to regenerate from the centre, powered by the strong root system, deep underground.
Some of the hardiest leaves that make up my winter salads are actually the baby leaves of larger “greens”. I love them because they are a doddle to grow, fantastically hardy over winter and supremely productive. Even after a hard frost, these wintery beauties seem to be knocked back for only a day or two before they start to produce new shoots and leaves. Perpetual spinach is the winter leaf most people know, and I do include this in my patch, but in terms of flavour and sheer productivity it is usurped by swiss chard ‘Green Wave’. I always plant the versatile rainbow chard ‘Bright Lights’ to add sparkle to my salads and fiery colour to my plot. I enjoy growing kale for baby leaves too, and have a soft spot for the red-leaved varieties. Most recently I have been growing kale ‘Redbor’, which is proving itself fantastically robust. A true cut-and-come-again leaf, I have found that it crops quickly even if you pick all the baby leaves. It is a superhero plant that returns with vigour even after a hard frost.
Advertisement
All these leafy greens will require a good hit of nitrogen to perform at their best. If your winter salads are to be planted in a plot that was previously supporting hungry crops like garlic or potatoes, you will need to add homemade compost or slow-release pellets (seaweed or chicken manure). If you are growing in pots, a new layer of compost is always welcome, as is a regular dose of liquid feed. During August and September the soil will be warm enough for seeds to germinate quickly from direct sowings, but if you are fighting slugs or snails you can sow in jiffy plugs or modules, planting out as soon as your seedlings have a couple of sets of leaves.
Plant in free-draining soil in a sunny, sheltered spot so that your salads are protected from winter winds. Thin baby seedlings as soon as you can to the final spacings found on the packet. This will help your young plants to develop the strong root system that will help them to bounce back successfully after cold snaps. Most of these leaves will continue to grow unprotected throughout the winter, but the best results will be achieved with a cloche, coldframe or fleece from late October onwards.
Grow without a cloche
Swiss chard “Green Wave” AGM (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. flavescens)
Swiss chard “Bright Lights” AGM (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. flavescens)
Kale “Redbor” (Brassica oleracea)
Buckler leaved sorrel (Rumex scutatus)
Protect with a cloche
Lamb’s lettuce (Valerianella locusta)
Land cress (Barbarea verna)
Winter purslane (Claytonia perfoliata)
Mizuna (Brassica rapa nipposinica)
Salad rocket (Eruca sativa)
Mustard (Brassica juncea)
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)
Komatsuna (Brassica rapa)