If your space is limited, consider growing salad greens in containers. Andrea Crawford, owner of Kenter Canyon farms, explains how to grow your own salad pot. Materials:
Container with drainage hole
Good-quality sterile potting mix
Cottonseed meal or slow-release fertilizer
Paper cup
Seeds for four to six kinds of salad greens
Spray-mist bottle
- Choose a container, and make sure it has a drainage hole. Cover the hole with a piece of plastic screen to prevent soil from washing out.
- Fill the container with good-quality potting soil that contains vermiculite, an amendment that helps the soil retain moisture.
- Amend the potting soil with a little cottonseed meal or a slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote.
- Moisten the soil well with a watering can before planting the seeds (figure A). It should feel about as damp as a wrung-out sponge.
- You'll need a total of approximately 1 teaspoon of seed for an 8" container. In a paper cup, mix four to six varieties of seeds with a small amount of sand for easier planting (figure B). For interesting flavor, use one-third spicy greens such as chicory or arugula. Our salad pot included frisC)e, a type of endive; red lettuce; arugula, a peppery-tasting salad green; and green romaine.
- Pour the seed mix into your hand, and sprinkle it over the top of the soil (figure C).
- Settle the seeds by moistening the soil surface with a spray-mist bottle. There's no need to cover the seeds with soil.
- Place the pot in a sunny location, and water twice a day with the spray bottle (figure D) until the seeds germinate.
- From that point until harvest, you can use a watering can without disturbing the plants.
In about 6 weeks, you will have a beautiful pot of edible greens. Once the greens are ready to harvest, they'll hold for a week or two. Salad greens grow very quickly. In order to keep growing, these plants require a steady source of nutrients to be available at all times. Salad plants are ready from seed to harvest in only 6 weeks.
RESOURCES :
Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Shepherd's Garden Seeds
Shepherd's Garden Seeds
Felton, CA 95018
Phone: 408-335-6910
A Gardener's Guide to Planters, Containers and Raised Beds
Model: 0806942436
Author: Chuck and Barbara Crandall
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.
Website: www.sterlingpub.com
Movable Harvests: The Simplicity and Bounty of Container Gardens
Model: 1881527700
Author: Chuck Crandall
March 1995
Chapters Publishing Ltd.
Phone: 617-351-3855
E-mail: chapterj@together.net
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