appendices
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Note on climate and seasons

Year round saladini chart

Special situations

Further reading

Organisations

Seed suppliers

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Note on climate and seasons

Climate In very broad terms, climatic zones are divided into tropical, semi-tropical and temperate – which includes the British Isles, and much of Europe and the USA. The planning charts and other data in The Salad Garden are based on my experience in East Anglia, in the British Isles, a ‘cool’ temperate climate, as opposed to the milder, Mediterranean climate. I have used the term ‘temperate’ to equate with the conditions there as outlined below (roughly US Zone 8), and the term ‘warm climate’ for regions with longer, hotter summers, where tender vegetables are easily grown outdoors.

In our East Anglian garden the average annual minimum winter temperature was about –7°C/20°F, and this was rarely maintained for more than a few days. In practice crops like spring cabbage, spinach, Brussels sprouts, kale and corn salad overwintered successfully outside. We expected our first frosts in early October, and could get frost as late as the first week in June. So I rarely planted tender crops outside until late spring/early summer. Average mean temperature in the hottest month (usually July) was about 16°C/60°F. Success with the more tender summer vegetables, like tomatoes in the open, was never guaranteed – hence my extensive use of unheated polytunnels. I hope gardeners in warmer and cooler climates can extrapolate from this. In our present, maritime garden in south-west Ireland we rarely experience frost, can probably sow and plant outside three weeks earlier and enjoy longer autumns and shorter winters – benefits offset by the higher, salt-laden winds.

Seasons To enable the book to be interpreted elsewhere, we have throughout used ‘seasons’ instead of calendar months. The chart below indicates the equivalent month in each hemisphere. Consider seasons a rough guide to the timing of garden operations. In practice the dividing line between seasons is blurred; weather patterns vary not just from one year to the next, but within climatic zones, and even within a locality. And now the marked effects of climate change and global warming have to be taken into account.

Day length In some plants development is governed by the hours of daylight. ‘Long-day’ plants flower after the longest day in mid-summer; ‘short-day’ plants flower before the longest day. Day length-sensitive edible plants, such as onions and oriental brassicas, must be grown in the appropriate period to avoid the stimulus of flowering.

Hardiness Term used in temperate zones for a plant’s ability to survive winter outdoors without protection. Broadly, ‘moderately hardy’ plants survive at least -5°C/23°F; fully hardy plants to -15°C/5°F. Half-hardy (tender) plants do not survive frost (temperatures of 0°C/32°F) in the open.

MONTHS/SEASONS CONVERSION CHART

SEASON	NORHERN HEMISPHERE	SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Mid-winter	January	July
Late winter	February	August
Early spring	March	September
Mid-spring	April	October
Late spring	May	November
Early summer	June	December
Mid-summer	July	January
Late summer	August	February
Early autumn	September	March
Mid-autumn	October	April
Late autumn	November	May
Early winter	December	June

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Special situations

Most gardens have shaded, dry or wet areas unsuitable for many crops. Here’s a few that with a little help tolerate less favourable conditions.

Light shade (provided they have adequate moisture): angelica, chickweed, chicory (grumolo, red and Sugar Loaf), chives, chrysanthemum greens, endive, garlic mustard, lemon balm, lovage, mizuna greens, Hamburg parsley, Jerusalem artichoke, land cress, marjoram (golden-leaved forms), mint, mitsuba, sweet bergamot, salad rocket, sorrel, sweet cicely, wood sorrel, Alpine strawberries. (Comfrey and good King Henry, although not strictly salad plants, are also shade tolerant).

Light shade in summer only Chinese cabbage, chervil, coriander, lettuce, pak choi, parsley, peas, radish, spinach, Swiss chard.

Dry conditions These require enough moisture initially to get them established, and may need occasional watering: alfalfa (Lucerne), basil, buckler-leaved sorrel, February orchid, clary sage, winter purslane, iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), kohl rabi (more drought tolerant than most brassicas), lavender, leaf amaranth, marjoram, New Zealand spinach, pot marigold, red valerian (Centranthus ruber), reflexed stonecrop (Sedum reflexum), rosemary, summer purslane, sage, salad burnet, thymes.

Moist conditions (provided they are not waterlogged) golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), lady’s smock (Cardamine pratensis), lemon balm, chicory (Grumolo and red), Chinese cabbage, corn salad, Florence fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, land cress, leeks, mint, mitsuba, sweet bergamot, watercress.

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Year round saladini chart

The salad-lover wants not just fresh salad all year round, but a variety of plants, epitomized by the mixtures we call ‘saladini’ (see here). A well-balanced ‘saladini’ has four main elements. While the backbone is bulky, mild-flavoured leaves, variety is created with smaller quantities of sharp or distinctly flavoured leaves, others with outstanding crispness and texture, and lastly, colourful and decorative elements with herbs and edible flowers as the finishing touches.

The chart on the following page divides some of the most popular plants for saladini into these four categories, indicating the main season in which they are harvested fresh. So a glance down each column indicates the range available for a saladini at any time of year. A few plants fall into several categories, but are listed under their prime characteristic. A few others, which there was not space to include fully, are indicated at the side. Herbs, sprouted seeds, microgreens and most root vegetables have been omitted, as have a few fruiting vegetables, such as most tomatoes and sweet peppers, which are best used on their own rather than in a saladini mix.

Use the chart to plan your own salad garden, so that you will have a supply of varied salad ingredients all year round. The chart is largely based on records kept in my previous garden in Suffolk (see climate note). If you are gardening in a warmer climate, the season for tender vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers will be longer, and of course the reverse will apply in cooler climates. To be sure of quality salads all year round, especially in the leaner winter months, I make extensive use of protection or cover. In my case this is unheated polytunnels; it could equally be cloches, frames or protective fleeces.

The chart shows how the season can be extended with the use of protection.

YEAR-ROUND SALADINI CHART

KEY

CCA = cut-and-come-again

S = cut-and-come-again seedlings

sm = cut-and-come-again when semi-mature/mature

* = also other thin-leaved kales, see ◗ shown here

wks = average weeks to maturity

season of availability

season extended under cover

Additional plants

Bulky and mild All year round: (S) Texsel greens, (S) komatsuna

Autumn to spring: February orchid

Sharp and/or distinctly flavoured All year round: spinach, cress, spring onions, leaf radish

Spring: chrysanthemum greens, dandelion, bulb onions, shallots

Summer: chrysanthemum greens, dandelion, mooli radish, (S) oriental mustards,

Winter: chrysanthemum greens, bulb onions, hardy winter radish, shallots

Crisp and/or distinctly textured

All year round: (S) alfalfa

Spring and summer: radish seed pods

Autumn: Chinese and Jerusalem artichokes, radish seed pods, choi

Winter: Chinese and Jerusalem artichokes, trench celery, winter radish

Decorative and/or coloured All year round: red lettuce, (S) ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard, buck’s horn plantain

Spring: Treviso chicory. Flowers: February orchid, bellis, chives, pansy, pot marigold, oriental greens’ flowers

Summer: ‘Bull’s Blood’ beet leaves, red cabbage, (S) red orache, ‘Magentaspreen’ tree spinach, gold-leaved summer purslane. Flowers: chives, nasturtium, pot marigold, Tagetes, pansy, rose

Autumn: ‘Bull’s Blood’ beet leaves, red cabbage, purple-stemmed pak choi, (S) red orache, ‘Magentaspreen’ tree spinach. Flowers: as summer

Winter: red cabbage, Treviso chicory, purple stemmed pak choi. Flowers: winter pansy

Where do I start? Suggestions for novice gardeners

If you are new to gardening, the choice of salad crops can be bewildering. I would suggest starting with just one or two from each group, then extending your range as you gain confidence. The following are some of the most easily grown, especially when grown as baby leaves.

Bulky and mild Salad Bowl lettuce, Texsel greens, fine-leaved kales, pak choi, komatsuna and salad rape seedlings.

Sharp/distinctly flavoured Rocket, sorrel, radish, curly endive seedlings.

Crisp or textured ‘Little Gem’ lettuce, mizuna greens, winter purslane

Decorative Red and green Salad Bowl and Lollo lettuce, winter purslane, mibuna greens, nasturtium and calendula flowers.