Leaves we like

While I like growing lettuces - I love the way they go from being a small floppy collection of leaves to big-hearted and ready for picking in the space of a week and the fresh crunchiness of a homegrown lettuce cannot be replicated in anything you buy in a shop – I’m increasingly drawn to new tastes in leaves.

Pea shoots are irresistible, although I’ve learned the hard way not to pinch out the growing shoots of the plants I’m growing for their pea pods. These days I’ll grow pea shoots as microleaves, using up the remains of a packet and scattering them over vermiculite in a shallow tray (a supermarket veg tray is ideal and usually comes complete with drainage holes in the bottom). Put the tray on a shallow bowl – or deep plate and pour water onto the plate - not the tray. Water will be drawn up through the drainage holes into the vermiculite without drowning it or displacing it. The peas should germinate in 2-3 days and shoots will be ready for eating within a week.

This same microleaf technique works with lots of different leaves and it’s well worth experimenting. Basil, rocket, radish, coriander will add flavour to salads and garnishes – and use up any dusty remains of a seed packet when there isn’t really enough to sow outside.

Oriental leaves like mizuna and mustard are good for giving salads a peppery punch. Mizuna is probably the easiest leaf in the world to grow, although I personally think a little goes a long way. It’s not the most exciting taste in the world.

For a leaf with a nutty bite to it, rocket is hard to beat. It grows readily in a pot or in the open ground and will readily self-sow as well so you can have rocket growing throughout the season for very little effort. Like mizuna and mustard it’s quick to bolt if there’s any check in its growth such as a dry spell, but the flowers are good to eat as well and the creamy yellow petals are delicately decorative.

For a long-lasting salad plant, corn salad or lamb’s lettuce is my favourite. I grow this in a long trough on a windowsill, starting it off early in the season (Jan-Feb) indoors and moving outdoors when the weather warms up. Great for cut and come again leaves. A heavy layer of vermiculite over the compost in the trough will keep the soil from splashing the leaves when you water, but be gentle with the watering can anyway – don’t blast it.

One of my favourite salad leaves is the French frisee: crunchy-stemmed and blanched in the middle. Some varieties are self-blanching but for those that are not, growing the plants to maturity without blanching will give you tough, bitter leaves. The blanching process tenderises both the texture and flavour of the leaves. I’ve had very variable results with trying to blanch my own, and must give this a go again next year. To blanch the frisee, choose a plant with plenty of healthy green leaves, and either tie up the central leaves with garden twine, or place an upturned bucket over the centre of the plant - the idea is to exclude light (as you do when forcing rhubarb). Make sure the plant is completely dry before you cover it. On several occasions I’ve uncovered my frisee to find a soggy mess.

Lettuces just beginning to develop plump, firm hearts.

Troughs of mixed leaves just outside the back door mean you can throw together a salad at short notice.

Waking up in the sun

After what seems like weeks of wind and cold and rain, it only takes a couple of sunny days and suddenly it looks as though we might get some produce this year.

These are tree onions, or Egyptian walking onions, which is a much more exotic name by far.
These edible bulblets are produced at the top of the stems.

Walla Walla sweet onions, grown from seed, beginning to swell at last.

These Quattro Stagione lettuces have been looking like limp flattened seedlings, but are now finally beginning to heart up.

Little Gems are also putting on new growth fast.

Last week they were immature white buds; this week, we have raspberries!

Hosts of strawberries hang down over the side of the raised bed.

Purple-podded mange tout peas need another couple of weeks before they're ready to eat, I think.

Simple pleasures

We have a glut of lettuces at the moment. Sweet Little Gems and crimson-tinged Quattro Stagione, that were frilly and loose-centred just a few days ago, have suddenly plumped up and are demanding to be picked. The best thing about a lettuce glut is that you can be brutal and discard all but the pale tender hearts - the neighbour's rabbit is quite happy with the leftovers as well.

This evening I made a salad with just the hearts from five lettuces, some pork belly lardons and some oversize croutons I made with the remains of a walnut loaf I found in the bread bin. With a simple white wine vinegar and mustard vinaigrette, it made a simple and exquisite supper.