Salad Days

Why it is better to grow your own…

Summer is here and I am thoroughly enjoying my home-grown salad leaves and rocket.

In the supermarket you can expect to pay a pound or more for a small bag of rocket and anything up to £2 for a lettuce – and just to let you into a little secret, I think the home-grown salad tastes much better. I also know that it has not been sprayed with any chemicals, so it feels much better for me as well.

Growing your own food is an excellent way to save money. A packet of seeds costs anything from 99p to £1.99 and you get a lot of salad from one packet! This year I inherited a lot of seeds from family, so it has worked out even cheaper.

Salads have a long season. I usually start sowing my summer leaves in trays in early spring and putting them in my little plastic greenhouse, so they are ready to plant out when the soil is warm enough - this year, I waited a while!

I then keep sowing them either in trays or direct into the ground every couple of weeks, to ensure a constant supply.

In August/September I sow some Winter Crop lettuce and protect them through the winter under cloches. They are ready to harvest in March/April and it is very rewarding to have something to pick at that time of year.

A couple of years ago I grew some wild rocket. This lasted two years (which was a bit of a surprise) and I only had to pull it up at the end of last year, as it had flea beetle and I also wanted to move the beds around.

Of course salads are also a favourite crop of the slugs and snails. I try to protect mine with a combination of used filter coffee granules - which I dry and then sprinkle around the plants - sage and organic slug pellets. Regular checks of your plants are also a good idea.

I have seen my fellow allotmenteers try all kinds of contraptions, including planting lettuces in a long plastic pot on metal poles with the copper strips wound around the top of them. The only way the slugs and snails are getting to his lettuces is if they can parachute in!

I mentioned flea beetle earlier, which is a pest that can attack your rocket and brassicas. This year I have planted catnip with them, as this is a companion plant that is supposed to deter this pest and so far it has been very successful.

Radishes, beans and carrots are also good companion plants for lettuces, but they do not like to be grown with celery, cabbage, cress or parsley.

In this hot weather salad is the perfect dish – easy to prepare and eat. I have been adding in my little carrots as I thin them, which have a delicious sweet flavour.

You can make all kinds of dressings to go with you salad; here is a recipe for one of my favourites:

Garlic & Herb Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Pinch of sea salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons dried herbs (e.g. basil, oregano or thyme)
• About 1.5 cups extra virgin olive oil

Method

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a jar. Stir well with a fork.

Add olive oil, cover tightly, and shake well until combined. You can also use a blender and drizzle the oil in slowly while it is running.

Serve (this will also last in the fridge for at least a week or so)