Winter Salads

Although it is relatively easy to grow leaves for winter consumption, most of the plants used in conventional gardening tend to be annuals (such as cabbage or spinach) and are also nicer when cooked. There are relatively few well known winter salad leaves and many of these (such as winter lettuce) require protection in all but mild winters.

I would like to look at a few alternative winter salad plants and how they can be grown outdoors without protection to provide tasty salads throughout the winter. The milder the winters are in your area then the greater the variety that you will be able to grow, but the list of plants at the end of this leaflet contains plants suitable even for the coldest areas of Britain. Unless it says otherwise, all the plants are herbaceous perennials and do not need much work to maintain them once they are established. Many of them are also very ornamental and will not look at all out of place in the flower garden.

Spring to early summer is the best time to plan and plant out the garden. If done at this time of the year you will be able to harvest your leaves in the following winter. When deciding on the size of the garden it is important to remember that plant growth in the winter is much slower than in the summer. In general you need more plants to supply the same quantity of leaves. You also need to understand the growth habit of the plants you are growing. Some, such as chicory, do most of their growing in the summer and autumn, the leaves are hardy enough to stand up to the rigours of winter and can be harvested as required. The plants will make very little further growth until the warmer weather arrives. A few of the plants are evergreen, although they make very little growth in the winter they can be picked with care throughout this season. A number of other plants, usually from Mediterranean climates, have a dormant period in the summer (the dry season in the Mediterranean) and begin their growth cycle in the autumn. They grow slowly throughout the winter and can be harvested moderately as required. Finally, a number of plants come into new growth very early in the year and will normally provide good yields towards the end of winter.

The next step is to choose a suitable site for the garden. The primary requirements are:-

1. The site must be well-drained. Standing water is one of the biggest enemies of the winter garden.
2. It must be in a sheltered position. It is especially important that the site is protected from cold winds (those from the north and north east in Britain).
3. It should be at least fairly sunny. A position that is completely open to the south or southwest is best, southeast or west are the next best, other positions are not very suitable.
4. The ground should be fertile, but not too rich. What is required is healthy growth but not luxuriant growth, since this is often soft and sappy and therefore more susceptible to damage by the cold.

Many of the plants in the list below can be easily obtained from a garden centre or as seed. The native species can be obtained from the wild (so long as you have the permission of the land owner!). Other species can often be obtained from us (Plants For A Future (PFAF) - full details at the end of the article).

Unless stated otherwise, the seed of all these plants can be sown in early spring in a greenhouse or cold frame. Prick the plants out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them into their permanent positions in early summer. Most of the perennials can be divided in the spring or autumn, but spring is usually best especially if you want to harvest them in the coming winter. The few shrubs in the list are easily increased by cuttings in July.

The next thing you need to do is to select the plants. The following list is far from exhaustiive, but it does contain some of the more popular leaves we are growing at PFAF. I think you will find it caters for most tastes.

Alliaria petiolata. Hedge garlic. This native biennial plant can be found wild in many hedgerows so there is probably little need to cultivate it. The leaves, flowers and young seedpods have a flavour that is somewhat like a cross between garlic and mustard - fairly pleasant when added in small quantities to a salad. This is one of the more shade-tolerant plants on the list. If you decide to cultivate it then collect the seeds from wild plants in early summer and sow them straightaway in situ. They will normally maintain themselves by self-sowing.

Allium species. Onions, Chives etc. There are a number of species in this genus that can supply winter leaves. Our native wild garlic, A. ursinum, is a woodland plant. Usually available from late January or February, the leaves and flowers have a delicious mild garlic flavour. An aggressive spreader, it is probably best left in the woodland, it is also more tolerant of wet soils than other plants in this list. My personal favourite winter onion leaf is the daffodil garlic, A. neapolitanum. The leaves are available all through the winter and the plant produces beautiful white flowers in early spring. Both the leaves and the flowers have a garlic flavour and are delightful in salads. Whilst seed of this plant can be sown in the spring, we get the best results by sowing it in a greenhouse in early autumn. This species is only hardy in the southern parts of Britain. The perennial onion, A. cepa 'Perutile' is more reliable in colder parts of Britain - its mild onion flavoured leaves are available all year round. There are many other Allium species to choose from - the following should be hardy in most parts of Britain. Welsh onions, A. fistulosum often die down in severe winters but will be back again in late February. Chives, A. schoenoprasum, die down in early winter but are back in February. The three-cornered leek, A. triquetrum can be available from October onwards and has naturalized in parts of Britain.

Atriplex halimus, the salt bush, is an evergreen shrub growing 1 metre or more tall. Very resistant to maritime exposure, it can be trimmed and grown as a hedge to provide shelter for other plants in the winter garden. The leaves are more silvery than green and have a distinctive salty flavour that most of our visitors enjoy. It can be picked in moderation throughout the winter. It has become naturalized on the coasts of S. England but is not hardy in the colder areas of Britain. A. canescens is a very similar-looking N. American shrub that has the same uses.

Barbarea vulgaris. This plant is our native yellow rocket. A short-lived perennial growing about 30cm tall, it has a hot watercress-like flavour. It might die down in colder winters and usually self-sows when happy. B. verna, American land cress, is related to this plant and can also be grown for winter salads though it is not reliably perennial and is normally sown in late summer or early autumn in order to provide winter leaves.

Beta vulgaris cicla is the cultivated spinach beet. Although it is a biennial, this plant usually self-sows freely and provides fresh leaves all year round with very little effort from the grower. The much more ornamental cultivar 'Ruby Chard' can also be used but it does not self-sow as freely, nor is it so hardy, often dying down in cold winters. Not my favourite salad leaf, but some people like its raw beetroot-like flavour.

Campanula poscharskyana is a lovely carpeting harebell (or bluebell if you live in Scotland). About 10 - 25cm tall, this is a rampantly spreading plant that makes good ground-cover. The leaves, although sma

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