disappointing, and, rarely there is a total failure. To balance that there
is the occasional surprising success. A salad made from freshly picked
lettuce from the garden is a wonderful experience.
Seeds of more and different sorts of lettuce are available both in
catalogues and in the stores and it
is a good idea to know what to look for. There are crisp head lettuces
such as the popular iceberg; softer leaved Butterhead lettuce such as
Buttercrunch, Romaine (or Cos) lettuce... a must for Caesar Salad and
finally a big choice of leaf lettuces which include the oakleaf varieties.
In all these categories there are both green leaved and red leaved
varieties, grown together they give a wonderful display of colour both in
the garden and on the salad plate. The red leaves however should be picked
when young as they grow older they will turn green and may taste slightly
bitter.
It is the leaf lettuces which will be the most useful in containers. You
may even want to have a few containers if space permits. The great thing
about leaf lettuce is that you can start eating them as you thin the
plants to give them more space to grow and then as they get bigger you can
take leaves off them every time you want a salad, and still they grow.
When the hot weather starts it is wise to take the whole plant for your
salad as eventually they get tired of producing new leaves. You could then
fill the container with plants that have overgrown in your garden or
annuals.
Lettuces need cool weather to germinate and grow well, they like a rich
well drained soil and plenty of water.
A mulch is a good idea as it keeps the soil cool and damp and I find that
it protects the plants from being spattered with mud in a rainstorm.
However it is very necessary to watch for slugs, this is easier in
containers than in the open ground. If possible keep continuous planting
going so you are never without salad. For most of the summer this is quite
easy but germinating the seeds in August for a fall crop is a challenge
and I have not yet found a sure way of succeeding.
There are a good many varieties of lettuce available in Canadian
catalogues, both Stokes Seeds and William Dam have a great selection more
probably than in the local garden outlets. However there are some special
ones which come from American sources, At Thompson and Morgan there are
packets of five different varieties of leaf lettuces in one package, each
packaged separately.
A perfect way of having a variety for salads and also a staggered
maturity in the plants, also there is a variety to choose from for
example three different mixes of mesclun.
Mesclun is a very popular salad mix, in fact the main ingredient of
Californian salad. It is a mixture of special baby greens both tangy and
mild. Seed mixtures are described as either mild or zesty. The greens can
be cut within a month of seeding and after being clipped will regrow for
another harvest. Like the lettuce the leaves of the plants are green, red
and even deep purple or bronze, it makes a delicious and colourful salad.
Tomatoes are a must for salad, they too can be planted into containers and
there are some that are specially grown just for containers.
Tomatoes need full sun, very rich soil and a great deal of water and the
one that has been my favorite for years is Sungold a very sweet golden
yellow cherry type.. However in Canada both Stokes Seeds and William Dam
list tomatoes specially chosen for containers. Stokes also lists a striped
tomato appropriately named Tigrette, it is plum shaped with yellow and red
stripes and ornamental yellowish green foliage. Garden centres also sell
the containers with already healthy plants; especially patio cherry
tomatoes.
With a pot of basil close by on your patio or deck you will have all the
makings of wonderful salads. More ideas from Sandra or Rachel at
www.sdapublishing.com
http://secret-recipes-old-bay-seasoning.recipesguide.us/
http://appetizers-cold-recipes.recipesguide.us/
http://best-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe.recipesguide.us/
http://box-cake-mix-recipes.recipesguide.us/
http://easy-camping-recipes.recipesguide.us/
http://egg-salad-recipes.recipesguide.us/
http://free-bruschetta-recipes.recipesguide.us/
http://no-bake-cookie-recipes.recipesguide.us/
http://rice-cooker-recipes.recipesguide.us/
http://baked-fish-recipes.recipesguide.us/
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