Summer Salads

Early spring sees many buds and shoots bursting into life and it is these wonderful green sprigs

, again full of life and vitality that transform an early salad. You just have to know what is edible. My favourite is wild garlic, it makes a wonderful addition to spring salads, soups, stir-fries, but there are other wild plants that can be used to bulk up the salad bowl. Garlic mustard is another early spring stalwart; it too adds a spicy flavour to the menu. Cover a patch of dandelion with a paving slab to block the light and harvest the pale yellow leaves for a less bitter taste. As always it is essential to really know your plants and correctly identify any that you intend to eat. If in any doubt do not eat it.

Under glass

In the Greenhouse its sowing time. There are literally masses of early salad plants that can be sown and harvested within weeks, but dont settle for the obvious ones. Look out for tasty edible radish leaf and other easy to grow delicacies such as watercress that grows happily in quality compost and does not need to be waterlogged at all.

Many modern salad leaf collections are designed to be grown in large pots on the patio and then harvested as required. You can sow them from early spring right through the summer to create your own mixtures of healthy fresh leaves. Each pack contains enough seed for several sowings, sow a few each week for fresh leaves all season and cut them while they are young to keep the plants producing. Sow broad beans and peas for extra leaves, personally I love the taste of broad bean leaves in salads and stir-fries, these easy to grow plants are fast to germinate producing large, soft leaves for weeks on end. Pea tops make a tasty addition as do baby beetroot leaves. Use a top quality dedicated seed compost for the best results.

by: Jean Vernon1

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