Many salad mixes feature a variety of greens other than lettuce. When harvested young, baby greens are a quick, simple, and nutritious crop to add to your gardening repertoire. Here are few you can add to your salads in addition to your favourite lettuce varieties:
Arugula: Grow as either a baby green or as full sized plants. Arugula has a spicy, peppery flavour that can add a burst of flavour to your mix.
Radicchio: Originating in Italy, this red leafed green has a bitter and spicy flavour. Part of the chicory family, it can also be grilled and stir fried when allowed to mature into a full sized plant
Mizuna: One of our favourite greens to grow, mizuna can be eaten as both a baby green or cooked as a full sized plant. It is a common ingredient in many commercial salad mixes. It stands up well to the hot summer weather and has a mild, juicy flavour
Beet Greens: Beet greens have a sweet and juicy flavour to them. When grown as a baby green, they are sown very close together to maximize the space between plants and prevent weeds from growing between. We like growing bulls blood beet greens due to their intense and deep rep coloured leaves.
Swiss Chard: Also in the same family as beets, Swiss chard leaves come in a veritable rainbow of colours adding an earthy and juicy crunch to any salad. Swiss chard is often grown in the edible landscape and as full sized plants.
Spinach: Spinach does best in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. We like to grow these under cold frames to extend our season and enjoy an early green.
Watercress: Watercress is a fast growing aquatic or semi aquatic plant that is often harvested wild by the banks of streams and rivers. Because of its fast growth habit, some consider it to be a weed, despite its long history of use as a food crop.
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