I want to grow big, bushy salad leaves...

savingmummy

OK i made my first challenge of becoming `greenfingered` by sowing some salad leaves i got free they were from lakeland and they have turned out to be leggy and very much like cress!!
I can`t see them turning into anything quite like i wanted :eek:- now on Day 11 post sowing http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...3&id=580693455

I have a packet of rocket seeds and a packet pf muzina(sp?) and am a bit put off using them incase the same happens Do these grow well?

Have any of you grown successful pots of salad leaves? what ones did you use?

s x

A._Badger

savingmummy wrote: »

OK i made my first challenge of becoming `greenfingered` by sowing some salad leaves i got free they were from lakeland and they have turned out to be leggy and very much like cress!!
I can`t see them turning into anything quite like i wanted :eek:- now on Day 11 post sowing http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...3&id=580693455

I have a packet of rocket seeds and a packet pf muzina(sp?) and am a bit put off using them incase the same happens Do these grow well?

Have any of you grown successful pots of salad leaves? what ones did you use?

s x

Don't be put off - it's really very easy and probably what went wrong was the type of seed you used.

Get a 10" pot and a packet of suitable seeds (I'm currently using Fothergills mixed salad leaves). Sow as instructed or, if you want to try something a bit more reliable than covering with compost, fill the pot with a good quality multipurpose compost, set the seed on the surface, then cover with a fine layer of seed grade vermiculite (you can get that at most garden centres).

Keep moist and fairly warm and you'll have germination in a few days and leaves in a few weeks. If you've been getting leggy plants, the cause will be lack of light, so keep them somewhere where they will get plenty.

Good luck.

Jack's_mummy

Are they indoors? If so then that will be why they are leggy and cress like.

Lotus-eater

The problem is not the seeds, it's the way you've grown them.

Sow now it is warm enough, outside in a bed and transplant when they are big enough to be moved.
Or sow 3 seeds to each module in a tray, thin to one plant on germination and plant out when big enough, Keep modules outside straight after germination in a light but sheltered spot. Keep watered and protected from slugs.

You can sow your rocket and other salad leaves the same way.

The other way to do it, is to sow in a line outside, one seed every inch or so. As they come through, they will be much stronger than yours sown inside and when they get to about 12cm, you can start picking individual leaves, don't worry if the odd plant comes up by mistake, it will give the rest more space. As they get bigger take individual plants out to give the rest more room and they will get bigger, you can crop for a very long time this way.

savingmummy

Thank you All.

Yes i have been growing them indoors as i`m currently in a flat with no garden or balcony. Moving into a house on Thursday though!

They have however had a lot of light and really do get the sun on them. This morning i have bigger (well bigger then cress ) leaves and reddened ones (which was shown in the seed pack picture) Maybe i do need to be a bit more patient and if they are outside they may even progress a bit more.

Thank you again i dont know what i would do without you guys and girls xx

I will do as above next week with some more and hopefully get a better outcome