Four tips to help you enjoy some green days this summer with a homegrown harvest
MAKE your summer sow good with a homegrown harvest of mini lettuces and greens.
Using a windowsill, balcony or patio, you can grow enough to keep sorted for salad in the sunny days ahead.
Here are our tips to make your greens top of the crops.
CHOOSE YOUR CROP: Grow stuff you like and that your family will eat.
For a simple lettuce crop, it might be easier to pick and harvest a loose-leaf variety rather than one with a tight head of leaves.
You can also grow rocket, mizuna and endive for a tastier variety.
GROW FOR IT: Follow the instructions on the seed pack for the most chance of success.
Sow rows of lettuce or rocket seeds, for example, in rows in multipurpose compost, around 1cm deep then cover with a light layer of compost.
Use containers that have drainage holes, so the plants don’t get waterlogged.
Sow every two weeks through summer so that you will have a steady crop.
A CUT ABOVE: For a longer harvest, choose leaf lettuces which will keep you in summer greens.
You can cut the leaves off for a meal and more will grow in their place.
Snip a few leaves from each plant, at least an inch from the base, so you don’t damage the centre of the plant.
Keep them hydrated, with either a watering can or a spray bottle and cut the leaves.
CHILD’S PLAY: Generations of kids have enjoyed growing cress from seeds, and it’s a cinch to get right.
You can make cress egg heads to add more fun.
To do this, cut the top third off an egg and empty the yolk and white into a cup. You can use them for cooking later.
Wash out the egg shell then place a damp cotton wool ball in the bottom of each and sprinkle with cress seeds. Draw a funny face on the shells.
Keep damp and after a couple of days the seeds will start to sprout.
In two to three weeks it should have a full head of cress hair, ready for snipping and eating.
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