Lettuce Etc...

By Mwillis
I think my Salads bed is ample demonstration that you can grow a lot of salad in a small space. Here it is - a 1 meter x 2.4 metres raised bed. It is protected by netting to stop cats / foxes / badgers digging in it or trampling over it.

I cram the plants in fairly densely. One end of the bed is devoted mainly to Lettuces, though there are also a couple of clumps of Parsley, and my little patch of "Cutting Salad".

I like to have several different types of Lettuce on the go at any given moment. Currently I have Marvel of Four Seasons, Webbs Wonderful, Ice Queen, Devin, Elyburg, Amaze, Tom Thumb, Little Gem and another red one whose name I don't know because it is from a mixed pack (it's the tall one at bottom right of this next photo).

One of my favourites, and one which is very consistent, is this "Devin", grown from seeds sent to me by a friend in the Czech Republic.

The other end of the bed is currently less densely populated:

There are three rows of Radishes (one only very tiny still), one row of Spring Onions, six Lettuces (three each of "Amaze" and "Elyburg"), and six Endives (three each of "De Meaux" and "Caillard").

The Endives were only planted a few days ago and are still small.

I will be tending them very carefully and paying special attention to watering them, because they can be a bit temperamental and will bolt at the slightest excuse! Actually, I am particularly concerned about bolting this year, because of the strange weather we are having. The plants are understandably confused.

The population of this bed is constantly changing because whenever I harvest something I replace it more or less immediately with something else. Which reminds me, the "Cutting Salad" is reaching the end of its useful life, so I must pull it up and start again.