I hope I'm not getting impatient in my advancing years. When the latest seed catalogues arrived I determined to find out which were the quickest-growing salad crops.
I hope I’m not getting impatient in my advancing years. When the latest seed catalogues arrived I was determined to find out which were the quickest-growing salad crops.
Gardening isn’t the best pursuit for anyone seeking instant gratification, and I’m not usually an impatient gardener. I know that some things are worth waiting for. But some of the salad varieties in the new catalogues are said to be ready for picking within four weeks, and this is certainly an appealing idea. But which varieties will deliver a big enough yield in 30 days? Well, there’s cress, amaranthus and rocket, together with an increasing number of themed salad leaf mixtures.
I’ll certainly be carrying out my own seed trials next year to establish which are the most productive. The photograph featured here was taken last summer during my visit to the Mr Fothergill’s trial ground, and show mizuna, pak choi and other salad leaves.
Salad leaves are some of the easiest crops to grow from seed in pots: just fill a pot with compost, sprinkle on a few seeds, cover and water. Within weeks there will be delicious, fresh leaves, ready for picking.
Many crops can be grown in pots, making them perfect for tiny gardens. It pays to start by filling your limited space with the crops you enjoy the most before experimenting with others. We eat a lot of fresh salads in our house, so growing these saves us a great deal of money. With a little planning we can be self-sufficient for five months of the year, but I’d love to extend this period further.
All this has got me thinking about a lovely system of categorising vegetables coined by Joy Larkcom in one of her books on growing salad. She gave every crop a Value For Space rating, or VSR ... but I think this is a topic for another time.
I wonder which crops other gardeners would recommend for speedy results. Perhaps we should institute an award for Britain’s Quickest Crop.
