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Anyone with a window box, patio urn, or strip of soil by the back door can grow an appealing salad mix. In fact, salad greens are among the most satisfying vegetables to grow, since they usually pop out of the ground less than a week after the seeds are sown and are ready to harvest in four to six weeks.
Focus on soil. "Prepare your soil with plenty of organic matter,” says Dale Rhoads, a market gardener in Indiana. He recommends working composted chicken manure into the soil in spring, because it slowly releases nutrients to the plants throughout the rest of the season. He also urges gardeners to weed often, because greens perform better if they don’t have to compete for nutrients.
Start seeds early: Get a head start on early greens such as spring lettuce by starting them in flats an growing them under lights until they are ready to transplant into the garden, says Organic Gardening's test garden manager, Pam Ruch.
Sow outdoors: Direct-seed greens in rows or broadcast a random smattering of seeds over the soil in early spring. Cover the seeds with a very light layer of soil and water them gently.
Plant often. The trick to continuous salad-green production is succession planting--sowing a new crop every two or three weeks.
Water consistently. "Once seeds are sown, tamp down the soil and gently water with a sprinkler or fan-shaped watering spout,: says Jared McDermott, of the Vermont Hear and Salad Company.
Maximize flavor. The enthusiasm for "baby” vegetables tempts many growers to harvest their greens before they reach their flavor potential. Flavors develop in salad greens as they grow.
Grow a piquant blend of greens with these plants Mesclun
Arugula
Mizuna
Chicory
Kale
