Salad Leaves

Salad leaves are a diverse group of quick-growing leafy crops harvested while small, tender and full of flavour. Loose-leaf lettuces can be combined with rocket, American cress, cornsalad, spinach, chard, kale, mizuna, mibuna, pak choi, mustards, endive, chicory, coriander or sorrel. Ready-made seed mixes provide several colours, textures and flavours from one sowing, while separate packets give more control over the proportions and harvest season.

Most are grown by the cut-and-come-again method: snip a few outer leaves and leave the centre to produce another flush. In summer, the first leaves can be ready in about four weeks; cool conditions may extend this to eight weeks. A sowing usually provides two or three pickings. Their small size suits vegetable plots, flower-border gaps, balconies, windowboxes, hanging baskets, growing bags and patio pots.

Regular small sowings are more useful than one large batch. Start the next batch before the current plants are exhausted so young leaves are always approaching harvest. Seasonal mixes and protected growing can extend picking through winter.

Choose a blend that matches the season and the flavour you want. Loose-leaf lettuce is mild, rocket and mustard are peppery, cornsalad is mild and soft, and young chard or pak choi adds contrasting stems. Leaves of chard and kale eventually become too coarse for raw salads but remain useful as cooked greens. Look for the RHS Award of Garden Merit where available.

Recommended varieties

Cornsalad ‘Cavallo’

A hardy lamb’s lettuce forming compact rosettes of spoon-shaped green leaves.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Chard ‘Bright Yellow’ AGM

A striking chard with green leaves and bright yellow stems; harvest the young foliage to add colour to mixed salads.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Lettuce ‘Navara’ AGM

An oak-leaf lettuce with glossy very dark red leaves and fresh green growth at the centre.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Spinach ‘Apollo’ AGM

A spinach with thick rounded leaves that are tender and nutritious when harvested young for salads.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Pak choi ‘Summer Breeze’ AGM

A bolt-resistant pak choi suited to summer cropping, for harvesting either as baby leaves or as a mature head.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Choose fertile, moisture-retentive soil in sun for spring and autumn crops, with light shade available in hot summer weather. Remove weeds, then fork in about two bucketfuls of mature garden compost per square metre. Firm gently and rake to a fine, level surface without large stones. In a no-dig bed, apply an organic mulch ahead of sowing and sow into its prepared surface.

Containers should be at least 30cm wide so their compost does not dry too rapidly. A 30cm-wide and 30cm-deep pot is suitable for transplanted plants. Windowboxes, hanging baskets and growing bags also work if they drain freely and can be watered regularly. Fill with peat-free seed or multipurpose compost, firm gently and water before sowing.

Use salad leaves to fill short-lived gaps between slower crops such as potatoes or parsnips. The leaves should be harvested before the main crop needs the space. They are also decorative at the front of an edible border.

For indoor sowing from February, scatter seed thinly in small pots, trays or modules of moist peat-free seed compost. Cover lightly and place in a warm, bright position. Seedlings may emerge within a few days. Once they have several leaves and are strong enough to handle, move them into individual modules or pots. Grow on strongly before hardening off.

Sow outdoors from mid-spring to late summer in short drills 1cm deep and 30cm apart, or scatter seed over a small prepared patch and cover lightly. In containers, sow thinly 1cm deep. Make small repeat sowings every few weeks rather than filling the whole space at once.

Thin crowded seedlings according to the crop, eating suitable thinnings as baby leaves. Plant indoor-raised or purchased plugs outside once about 10cm tall, normally from spring onward, after hardening off. Space plants 10–15cm apart unless the individual crop needs more room. Protect spring planting with a cloche or plastic-free fleece. Put summer transplants in a cooler lightly shaded place and water promptly to prevent wilting and bolting.

Autumn-sown salads can crop in a greenhouse border over winter. In mild regions, hardy selections may remain under cloches or in a cold frame.

Keep seedlings and young plants evenly moist until established. Container compost can dry quickly and may need daily watering in summer. Water early in the morning so plants grow steadily through the day and foliage can dry before night. Evening watering can create damp conditions attractive to slugs and snails and favourable to grey mould.

Short-term salad crops generally need no additional feeding in fertile soil or fresh potting compost. Keep rows and containers weed-free so small seedlings are not overwhelmed or forced to compete for water and light. Dense weeds also shelter molluscs and restrict air movement.

Hot dry conditions often trigger premature flowering, or bolting, which makes lettuce and several other salad crops bitter. Water regularly, sow summer batches in light shade and move containers away from strong midday sun. Removing an emerging flower stem may delay the end briefly, but replace bolted annual plants with a fresh sowing.

Protect tender young foliage from slugs and snails from the moment seedlings emerge. Plastic-free fleece or fine insect-proof mesh can deter birds, cutworms and flying pests when installed securely. Avoid overcrowding, remove faded leaves and provide good ventilation under covers to reduce fungal disease.

Plan overlapping batches across the seasons. Sow indoors for an early start, outdoors little and often through summer, and under cover for autumn and winter. Harvesting a small amount from many plants leaves enough centre growth for recovery. When one batch begins to bolt, toughen or decline, remove it and let the next occupy the harvest slot.

Begin when plants are about 10cm high, typically one month after a summer sowing or two months in cooler weather. Harvest in the morning if possible and take only what you need, as baby leaves wilt quickly. Wash appropriately before eating.

For cut-and-come-again picking, snip a few outer leaves from each plant without damaging the centre. Another flush should be ready a few weeks later. Loose-leaf lettuce may instead be cut across the top, leaving a stump about 2.5cm high to resprout. Expect two or three useful pickings from most sowings.

Use young chard and kale raw, then cook their larger later leaves. Replace most annual salad crops once they flower because their foliage becomes coarse or bitter. With suitable hardy varieties, cloches, fleece, a cold frame or a greenhouse, harvests can continue through winter.

Humid, crowded foliage is vulnerable to grey mould and downy mildews. Space plants, remove fading material and avoid wet leaves overnight. Brassica leaves may suffer brassica downy mildew, while lettuce can develop its crop-specific downy mildew. Hot dry weather encourages bolting, so keep soil moist and use light shade during summer.