Salad Leaves

[tim]

I've broached this before, but I'm still in the dark.

Typical seed - "may be grown in containers - thin to 10". (Some say 4").

So, if you have a 30"x10" trough, you have 3 plants to cut & come again. Great deal!!

[tim]

[Svea]

hmm
i thought for c&c you can ust sow a row and then cut etc
that is what i am planning this summer - as i have spare throughs on the balcony. who needs flowers ;)

[valentinelow]

From my very limited experience of cut and come again, you don't thin them at all. That's the whole point.
Last year one of my biggest successes was with a freebie packet of mixed salad leaves. I sowed them in rows, and then cut baby leaves from them as soon as they were big enough. There is certainly no point in thinning - and definitely not to 10", or even 4". In a sense you are doing that anyway, by constantly cutting off leaves.
The other cut and come again technique is, of course, to cut the whole plant down to about half an inch. The same principle applies: don't thin.

[tim]

My thoughts, too.

Who's going to tell the suppliers??

[greyhound]

I don't thin mine either, and have no intention of doing so!

[glow777]

I always plant mine in modules so they get spaced out(ish) but always end up overcrowding each other.  They never seem to mind and it keeps the weeds down. I've never tried the cutting the plant completely technique we just tear leaves off as required.

Sowing every two weeks for succession is a laugh because I find that most of the plants last throughout the summer and only three sowings are required.

We have a salad available with every meal and have about 15 - 25 lettuce available at all time (slugs permitting")

Svea - your seeds hit the post last night but probably wont travel till this morning hopefully you'll get them Saturday

[dandelion]

Tim, I've sown the same trial packet last month. I broadcast the seed and this seems to have worked well. It certainly has kept the weeds down (and my soil is very weedy, new plot!). I'll make the first cut in a few days.

I did tranplant a few seedlings into rows, spacing the plants 10 cm apart. I'll let these grow a little taller and use as stir fry greens.

[Gadfium]

I've got the same trial pack too. Some have been sown singly in small modules for later planting outside in the hope of 'big plants'.

About half of the rest ended up in here:

[Rosyred]

Just to let you know I sown some of that in the winter last year as I had to grow something in my greenhouse and it grew ok. Just did it in a seed tray.

[saddad]

We sow into old plastic "window box" length troughs a double row and cut alternatively. We put a row of autumn mix in the far greenhouse after the cucs and things were out, just into the border soil and ate salads all winter only pulled them out when we needed the space about three weeks ago. If you have any red mustard in the mix watch it it gets really hot (even worse than Land Cress) as the plants get older!
;D

[tim]

I agree with picking rather than cutting - where this is possible. I'm having to cut the trays. Half cut - half not.

And with rows. But I found the instructions interesting!

[Anne Robertson]

I cheated and bought a punnet of 'living mixed lettuces' from Sainsburys for £1.49 (dozens of plants) and planted them out in a seed bed. They were already ready to pick leaves off and will keep me going till my home sown ones are ready.

[tim]

And they are un-washed - great!!