Spring lettuce almost ready to harvest.

There’s nothing like fresh, crisp, delicious, spring salad greens picked from your own urban garden.

Nothing.

Even if you buy your greens fresh from the farmer’s market, they’ll never be as fresh and sweet as the ones you pick from your own garden and have for dinner that night.

I say “that night” because you must pick salad greens on the day you plan to eat them, in the early morning before the sun climbs very high into the sky. They’ll be at their most succulent then, with drops of dew clinging to their leaves and to your fingers.

The lettuce mixture in the photo above is just about ready to pick. I’ll give them a few more days, especially since rain is forecast tomorrow. Lettuce is mostly water; water equals quick, succulent growth.

I have an unusual method for picking lettuce. Sometimes I go down the row with a scissors and cut off a cross-section of the mesclun or lettuce mix, leaving the roots to grow another crop of leaves.

Other times, I pick the largest plants in the patch of intensively planted salad greens. I immediately snip off the roots with a regular pair of scissors (this helps keep soil off the greens).

A week or so later, the smaller plants that I left in the garden have grown larger. I again go through the patch, picking the largest plants and snipping off the roots right then and there. Each time I thin out the larger plants, I leave the smaller ones.

They are at their most delicious when they’re about four to five inches high. Pick them then and leave all of the smaller ones to continue growing.

This effectively extends my lettuce harvest. Here’s my theory on why this works: lettuce has a tendency to get bitter and “bolt” or “go to seed” when hot summer weather sets in. The larger the plant, the greater the chance of this happening. But if you pick the larger plants, you’re left with the smaller ones, which put their energy into growing and have less of a tendency to turn bitter.

At least that’s what I’ve experienced.

Have you ever tried extending your lettuce harvest by picking the largest plants and leaving the smaller ones to continue growing?

Baby spinach leaves.

Spinach comes in three basic varieties: smooth leaves, curly leaves, or semi-curly leaves. Almost all “baby” spinach sold pre-washed and packaged in the United States is the smooth-leaved spinach. It’s not necessarily “baby” spinach; many are varieties that don’t grow any larger.

Spinach originated in the Middle East and was spread throughout the ancient world by Arab conquerors. To this day, it is still referred to as “Persian greens” in China. It became more popular in Europe after Catherine de Medici brought it with her when she married the King of France. Ever since, dishes containing spinach are known as “Florentine,” referring to her home in Florence, Italy.

Known botanically as Spinacia oleracea, spinach is a cool-weather vegetable that is fairly hardy, considering its origins near the deserts of the Middle East.

Plant spinach seeds in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. For a continuous harvest, plant every two weeks until late spring. When hot weather arrives, spinach will bolt, sending up a seed stalk and becoming bitter. Plant again in late summer for fall harvests. For summer sowing, chill seeds in refrigerator for a week or so; you’ll get better germination rates.

Sow seeds about an inch apart in rows 12 inches apart; for intensive gardens, space seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in all directions. Thin plants so they are about four inches apart for either method. Don’t waste any spinach plants; the ones you thin out are sweet and succulent. Many mesclun mixes include spinach seeds to be harvested when immature, along with the rest of the mix.

Spinach needs a lot of moisture and a fertile, well-drained soil. They shouldn’t need any additional fertilizer unless growth is slow or if plants are a light green. In this case, side-dress with high-nitrogen fertilizer.

Spinach is also a good crop to seed in late fall for overwintering. Even if the seeds germinate before freezing weather sets in, they’ll most likely survive if you mulch them well with straw or leaves and remove as soon as weather begins to warm up in spring.

I planted spinach last fall to overwinter, and also planted seeds in an old crock earlier this spring. Due to our continued freezing temperatures, snow, and downright lack of warm spring weather, neither patch has germinated yet. I’ll let you know when they do.

As a gardener, of course, I remain ever hopeful.

Seeds for early spring lettuce planted in fall and overwintered.

Success! As you can see by the photo at right, at least some of the greens seeds I planted last fall are germinating. Those in the picture are a mixture of lettuce seeds.

I love it when a plan comes together.

I should be picking baby greens for salads by the first part of May. That is, if the snowstorm we’re expecting this weekend doesn’t do them in. I’ll have to go out and cover them this evening, after they’ve had a chance to do some growing on this sunny, albeit cold, spring day.

So far, no sign of any other seeds I planted last fall—spinach, purple mizuna, arugula, pak choi, radishes, or green onion. There are some small green onions, but those were already up and growing last fall when I covered the garden.

As for the rows of mesclun and radishes I planted in the flower garden on the south side of the house, no activity there, as well as none in the large crock where I planted spinach seeds. Here’s a link to the post I wrote about that.

While I was examining the ground, I saw some ants scurrying around, doing ant things. Not that I’m in love with insects or anything, it’s just another sign of spring I thought I’d share with you.

The gardening season is finally, finally here in Minnesota.

Rock on!

Lettuce seeds are available in many varieties in shades of green or red.

There are few things more refreshing than a salad of sweet, crisp, spring lettuce fresh from the garden. Lettuce is easy to grow and a good crop for the beginning gardener.

Lettuce originates in the areas of the Mediterranean around Turkey, Iran and the Near East. It is still found growing wild all over Europe and in temperate parts of Asia.

The first mention of cultivated lettuce is found in Greek historical records dating to 450 BC. Egyptian tomb paintings depict Cos lettuce as early as 4500 BC.

The botanical name of lettuce is Lactuca sativa, which is Latin for “milk sap,” referring to the milky liquid it exudes when cut.

Lettuce was one of the first crops that I grew with large success. I started seeds in the house, transplanted them outside and ended up with so much lettuce of a dozen varieties that I gave it away to family, friends, and neighbors and still had more than we could eat.

The secret to successfully growing lettuce is fertile soil, adequate moisture, and cool weather.

Start lettuce seeds indoors about three to four weeks before you plan to set outdoors. It is safe to set out lettuce transplants when daytime temperatures in your location stay above freezing. They can handle a little cold weather, but cover if freezing temperatures are expected. You can also direct seed lettuce; for some reason, lettuce that is direct seeded seems better able to handle cold weather than transplants.

Last fall as an experiment I planted several varieties of lettuce seeds to winter over (here’s a link to that post). So far, nothing has come up yet but it’s still early here in Minneapolis.

Plant lettuce seeds in early to mid-spring as soon as the soil is dry enough to work. Sow seeds right next to each other in rows about a foot apart or plant intensively by broadcasting seeds. As the seedlings grow, thin to four to six inches apart.

As soon as the seedlings are about two inches high, you can start to harvest. My method is to thin by pulling the largest plants, pinching off the roots, and eating them for dinner. The smaller plants are left to grow on. If you continue to do this, by the time hot summer weather arrives you will still have small, succulent lettuce plants. Hot weather turns them bitter, but smaller plants seems to stay sweet longer than mature ones.

If you’re planting lettuce transplants, plant them about six inches apart in all directions, or four inches apart in rows that are a foot apart. My method for harvesting transplants is to pick the large outer leaves of each plant. They will continue to grow and produce new leaves, but these larger, more mature plants will turn bitter faster when hot weather arrives than direct seeded lettuce.

For a continuous supply of either baby seedlings or outer leaves of transplants, make succession plantings every week until late spring. In late summer, direct seed again for a fall crop. Plant fall lettuce seeds twice as deep as spring planted seeds to protect them from the heat of late summer. By the time the seedlings are up and growing, cool fall weather will have arrived.

Lettuce and all salad greens are one of my favorite things to grow (and eat). Look for more posts about them throughout the growing season.

Mizuna greens are delicious, easy to grow, and can replace spinach in virtually any recipe.

Have you tried any of the many Asian greens that have been appearing in seed catalogs for the past few years?

My introduction to Asian greens came from mizuna greens in a mesclun mix.  Mizuna greens are a mild mustard green with deeply serrated, lance-like leaves.  The young, tender leaves are good in a salad mix (hence their inclusion in mesclun).  The mature leaves are delicious virtually any way you cook spinach.

Last year I added a purple variety of mizuna greens to my garden.  Delicious.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds, http://www.johnnyseeds.com has the best selection of Asian greens, or any greens for that matter.  Their 2009 catalog devotes twenty-four pages to greens of all types, including Asian greens, specialty greens, lettuce, salad mixes, and mesclun.  Another thing I like about Johnny’s Selected Seeds is they include pictures of the individual leaves of most of their greens for easy identification in the garden.

Some Asian greens on my “want” list for this year include:

• Hon Tsai Tai (Brassica rapa) A “flower-bud” type of Asian green.  Hon tsai tai has purple flower stems and buds and a pleasing mustard taste that’s good in salads, or lightly cooked in stir-fries or soups.  Best sown from June through October for harvest from mid-summer on.
• Green Lance (Brassica oleracea) An F1 hybid, Green Lance is another flower-bud green.  Delicious cooked like broccoli or stir-fried.  Once the main stem is cut, this plant will branch out for many more harvests.  Also called Gai Lohn and Pak Kah Nah.
• Hong Vit (Raphanus sativus) A pink-stemmed leaf radish with a mild radish flavor.  Does not produce “radishes.”  Harvest leaves at any size.  Young, small leaves are an excellent addition to salads, larger more mature leaves are good for stir-fries or soups.
• Red Komatsuna (Brassica rapa) Red Komatsuna is an F1 hybrid leaf “green.”  Its red leaves with green stems are a stunning addition to your salad bowl.  More intense red color if sown in summer for fall harvest.
• Vitamin Green (Brassica rapa [Narinosa group]) If sown thickly, this deliciously different green will produce small leaves for salads.  Mature leaves can be harvested for braising or stir-frying.  Plants are slow to bolt and tolerant to both cold and heat.  Will produce a second harvest.

I could go on and on, but I only have so much space in the garden.  Will you be trying any Asian greens in your garden this year?

Spring Salad Greens

We’ve all seen the “volunteers” popping up in expected or unexpected places in our gardens.  “Volunteers” are plants that get started from seeds produced and scattered by our “on purpose” garden plants.  Some seeds lay dormant for years before unexpectedly popping up in the garden.

So why can’t I garden that way on purpose?  Why can’t I plant spring greens seeds in fall to overwinter and produce an extra early crop in spring?  I’ve noticed “volunteers” usually germinate earlier than planting guidelines given on seed packages.  Overall, volunteers tend to bloom or produce earlier than “gardener” seeded crops or transplants started in the house.

Several plants in my garden produced seeds this year and there are other seeds left over from spring planting.  Why not experiment and plant them this fall to see if any survive winter and germinate in spring?

This afternoon I went out and planted seeds of radishes, green onions and five different spring greens:  spinach, purple mizuna greens, arugula, pak choi and a combination of two different lettuces.  Following is the general procedure I followed:

1. Removed weeds and surface mulch to compost pile.  Some seedlings of radishes were growing in the bed and I left them to see if they survive.
2. Spread about a half inch of finished compost over the bed.  Used claw to mix into topsoil and smoothed bed.
3. Planted seeds much deeper than I normally would in spring.
4. Planted seeds more thickly than usual.
5. Did not water after planting.
6. Uncovered now, will be covered before freezing weather settles in for good.

I planted the greens nine to a square foot, using the square foot method.  The radishes were planted four to each of the squares in a square foot divided into nine smaller squares.  The green onions were randomly scattered in a bed where some summer “volunteer” green onions are already growing.  This bed does not conform to the square foot method; its area is a “sort-of” rectangle of approximately three square feet.

The soil should be thawed out by mid-April at the earliest, unless we have an unusually mild March (not likely).  I predict the seeds will germinate by late April.  By Memorial Day, I should be harvesting baby greens and radishes.  The green onions will probably reach pencil size by the Fourth of July.

Of course, this is assuming the seeds survive winter and germinate.

I’ll post follow-ups for each of the vegetables and report their germination date, approximate rate of germination, and the date of first harvest.