How to grow the best salads

Find out how to get tasty harvests of six easy salad crops. Following his growing trials, Rich Heathcoate shares his expert growing and harvesting tips

- Rich Heathcoate

In last month’s issue, I shared the 26 different varieties of salad crops that I trialled and gave my top tips for the best ones to grow. I also included my favourites for taste, yield and ease of growing.

This month, I’m going to walk you through the best way to grow salad crops, including radishes and beetroot, to get the best harvests, showing you just how easy it can be to grow your own salad crops from seed. As a bonus, I'll also share the results of another trial I did on growing pea shoots. They’re delicious in salads and as a topping for all kinds of dishes, but with so much choice of varieties, I wanted to narrow down which are the best peas to use for tasty, tender shoots.

Lettuce

To have salad leaves ready to harvest most months, I sow four times a year: February, April, June and September. For the best results, start them in modules under cover and plant out when the roots fill their individual cell. If sowing directly, don’t oversow. Cover the seeds with a thin layer (less than 1cm) of compost or vermiculite and water in.

Smaller varieties of lettuce work well in pots, but need more watering. Whether in the ground or in pots, keep plants well watered in warm weather to slow bolting (going to flower), which can make the leaves bitter. If pigeons are a particular problem, lettuces may need netting.