Spring greens - early salad greens; includes sources and recipes

Flower & Garden Magazine, April-May, 1993 by Inger Skaarup

While Winter Has Its Own culinary delights, we're bound to reach a point where "the bottom of the barrel" indicates not only the root cellar's state of supply, but also how we feel about heavy foods and hearty flavors.

Enter the crisp textures and lively flavors of spring greens just when we're most desperate for a change. The spring greens are indeed the portents of new life, warm soil and sunny days. As tender growth springs forth everywhere in the garden, the produce plot follows suit with leaves that pack the salad bowl with flavor.

And there are lots of delicious spring greens to grow. Whether you just want to add a few odd greens to liven up the salad bowl's lettuces, or set aside a whole bed for a wider selection, the leafy possibilities include pungent arugula, lemon-tart sorrel, peppery watercress, nutty mache and uncommonly good, slightly bitter dandelion greens.

Luckily for the busy gardener, spring greens are not difficult to grow. Select a site with good sunlight, about six to eight hours a day, and excellent drainage. To improve areas with poor drainage, work in peat moss or other organic matter, or grow greens in raised beds.

Many gardeners successfully grow greens wherever there is space in the garden: between perennial or annual flowers, as edgings for flower beds and along walkways or intercropped between other vegetables. But, if you have the space, consider giving the greens a triangular, oval or circular bed to themselves to create visual interest in the garden landscape. Leaf crops grow in a multitude of shades varying from yellow-green to the darkest hunter green, and many leaf tips are touched with hints of red or purple. Additionally, the varied textures of leaf crops -- frilled, curled, rounded or toothed -- add yet another visual dimension to the garden. Wherever salad greens are grown, they are excellent candidates for intensive planting in soil thoroughly worked and enriched with generous amounts of compost. Plants may be spaced so compactly that their outer leaves touch. For optimal results with this technique, plant greens in a narrow bed or raised bed no wider than 3 feet. The narrow measurement of the bed makes it easy to reach from the sides, preventing the soil from getting compacted by foot traffic. In this loose, fertile soil, plants develop strong root systems and yield is increased in spite of the close spacing.

Leaf crops do best in cool weather, so seed must be started early. Although it is beneficial to get a head start on the growing season by first starting seeds indoors or in a cold frame, successive plantings may be directly seeded in the garden. Discontinue planting when the weather gets hot; too much warmth causes most leaf crops to "bolt" (send up seed-producing stalks) and develop unpalatable flavors. Start on a planting schedule again in late summer for harvesting into the fall.

To start seed indoors, place moistened potting soil in a container. Scatter seed on top and cover with a fine layer of potting medium. Check daily to make sure the potting medium is moist. As soon as seedlings germinate and have developed true leaves, transplant 2 to 3 inches apart or into individual peat pots. Start hardening off plants about one week before they will be set out. Label containers and prepare plant tags for garden use to ensure correct identification of varieties.

When seeding directly in the garden, broadcast seeds or plant in rows. When seedlings are up, thin carefully to avoid disturbing the plants that will remain. Add the thinned seedlings to the salad bowl for a first taste of your garden greens.

Some spring greens may be harvested by cutting leaves from several plants, leaving the inner leaves uncut. This practice allows the plant to keep growing and producing leaves for continuous cuttings. Other greens, often labeled in catalogs as "cut-and-come-again" crops, may be cut when the leaves are young, leaving about 1 inch of stem. The plant left in the ground will produce two to three additional harvests.

Water the leaf crops regularly when spring rains aren't adequate and fertilize as needed. Most greens, with the exception of sorrel and mache, will benefit from an extra application of nitrogen. Mulch between plants to maintain moisture and keep weeds to a minimum. Pests and diseases rarely bother leaf crops, although flea beetles, aphids, slugs and snails may be an occasional problem.

Start some seed for leaf crops now; in your garden and at your table, they will proclaim that spring has arrived.

IN THE SALAD BOWL'S GOOD GRACES

A cutting garden of spring greens must be one of the tastiest rewards of gardening. Spring greens are easy on maintenance, grow quickly and provide a range of taste sensations when we most need a renewed food repertoire.

Much like cutting from an herb or flower garden, greens are also best picked early in the morning when they are crisp and sweet. Place them in a basket, making sure not to bruise the delicate leaves. In the kitchen, fill a sink with cool water and place the greens in it. Gently swirl the greens around to let the dirt and dust sink to the bottom. Lift the greens out of the water. If the greens are very dirty, repeat the procedure several times.