Cut and come again salad questions

crux

thanks for the info, I have a right mixture at the moment, I sewed some seeds inside in little peat pots back in March, they seam slow growing and I wonder if the peat pot's actually restrict the growth a bit too much, maybe the roots find it harder to grow and spread through a peat pot?

I also sewed some in individual pots a week ago, they are starting to show through and I'll see if they out perform the peat pot plants, then today I closely sewed some seed trays as an experiment, just to see how the plants would grow close together.

I should say that all of mine currently are inside a cheap green plastic green house if that makes any difference.

In a couple of weeks I'll sow some new containers outside without shelter apart from some netting and see how they go.

All in all I'm hoping to hit upon the perfect way for my space so that in future years the guess work is gone.

conradmum

If I were you I'd just sow directly into the containers you mentioned in your first post. Just draw a shallow line in the compost, water it, sow thinly, then just barely cover with sprinkled compost. As the plants come through, thin to one plant per inch.

No need to faff around with pots. If find things don't grow well in those peat pots. I think it's because it's hard to keep the roots of plants from drying out when the walls of the pots get dry.

ceridwen

I'm also experimenting with cut and come again salad leaves - so will be watching with interest.

The tv programme mentioned BTW is Alys Fowler "The Edible Gardener" - must borrow her book from the library. She's far from specific as regards instructions in those tv programmes:mad: (which maybe is in order to get us to buy the book???). Its on I-Player at the moment.

I pick my leaves from the outside in basically and have just learnt that I should be chopping them off with scissors 3 cm from the bottom apparently - all the better for regrowing purposes.

I'll be having a go at those peashoots she mentions too.

forgotmyname

Trying some pea ones myself, Got about 20 plants sprouting now, wife moans she never got any to cook last year, me and the kids ate them all in the garden.

Put some peas in a 4" pot about 12 i think, The ones very near the surface are starting to open already only been a few days. Hope they taste nice. After picking the leaves will more grow or is that the end of the plant?

System

Ceridwen, I dont think there is anything wrong with your technique of leaf picking. Do carry on. I have Charles Dowding's book - as an organic salad grower his opinions carry weight - he experimented - even weighing the leaves and found leaf picking to produce a greatest volume of leaves. It also keeps the plants juvenile and delays running to seed.

Cut and come again is difficult and leaves the plants open to botrytis as you inevitable cut across a number of leaves - the height at which you cut has to avoid the new growth from the centre. The secondary growth is never the same.

irishwexford

I've grown these for the past three years with great success. First two years planted them in garden but this year put in container where they are coming on nicely. I do not thin, just chuck them in and cut and eat. I found it best to pick largest leaves as they do tend to taste bitter if left in for too long. I had so many leaves it was a job to keep up with the eating. At present I have 12 icebergs growing on allotment and another dozen growning in mini greenhouse. Anyone need a lettuce?