How to grow winter salad

You will need

Plug plants, seedlings or seed of winter salad, including corn salad, land cress, lettuce, wild rocket and mustard
Trowel and fork
Watering can
Cloche

Do it: September

Takes just: an hour

Project categories

Overview

Plenty of salad crops can grow outside in winter, if given a little protection. In early autumn, the soil is still warm enough to sow seeds direct, while plug plants or seedlings planted out will establish quickly.

Choose hardy varieties of your favourite salad leaves, or experiment with more unusual crops such as winter purslane and salad burnet. One of the most reliable winter leaf crops is corn salad, or lamb's lettuce, Valerianella locusta.

Grow plants in a sheltered, sunny spot, to protect them from cold winter winds. Ensure the soil is free-draining, as plants can freeze if left standing in pools of icy water.

How to do it

Sow salads such as winter purslane, lamb's lettuce, land cress and salad burnet direct in shallow rows 20cm apart. Cover with a thin layer of soil or compost and water well.

Plant out established seedlings of crops sown earlier in the year, to encourage them to put on growth before winter sets in. Space them at 10cm intervals in rows 20cm apart, and water well. If you don't have seedlings to plant out, you can usually buy plug plants from garden centres and mail order companies.

Covering winter salad crops with a cloche

For best results, cover plants with a sturdy cloche. The warmer temperature inside the cloche will encourage strong plant growth in autumn, and protect them from the worst of the weather in winter.