Small space I Big ideas
A fresh supply of organic salad crops, microgreens and pea shoots is possible throughout the growing months in even the smallest space, explains Chris Collins, Garden Organic’s Head of Horticulture
While it might seem easier to pop to the shop for a vacuum-packed bag of salad, this can’t rival the taste of homegrownand you’ve no idea where or how they’ve been grown. Sowing your own seeds takes just a little effort but will save you money.
My favourite way to sow a ‘salad bar’ is in a trough on my balcony. I’ll sow in drills marked with a garden line. My go-to crops are spring onion, cut-and-come again salad leaves, wild rocket, spinach and mustard. Harvested young, wild rocket adds an amazing peppery flavour to sandwiches.
In my large trough (50x30x30cm / 19x11x11ins) filled with lovely peat-free compost, I sow 20cm (8in) apart and crop when the plants are slightly bigger than microgreens. If you want more mature plants, you can space your drills and seeds more widely.
Repeat sowings are the key to maintaining a constant fresh supply. Leave a wide enough gap between each drill, which allows you to inter-sow another row in between a few weeks later. Always sieve your compost over the top of the seeds and gently tamp down to ensure the perfect seed bed. A watering can with the rose turned upwards guarantees a finer shower
