May is an ideal time to sow salad crops. With the warmth of early summer, leaves will be ready to harvest over the coming months, making it easy to pick fresh salads for everyday meals.
Salad leaves are simple to grow and suit almost any space. They can be sown in pots, windowboxes, growing bags or directly into the garden. Most are quick to germinate and you should be able to start harvesting in around a month.
Salad leaves grow best in full sun, but most will also do well in a spot that gets sun for part of the day. There is a wide choice of flavours and textures to try, far beyond standard lettuce.
Good options include:
• Rocket, which is easy to grow and full of flavour
• Coriander and chervil, both annual herbs that add interest to salads
• Spinach and pea shoots
• Mixed salad leaf blends
With careful picking, most salad crops can be harvested several times before plants need replacing.
How to sow salad leaves
• Fill a pot with multi-purpose compost
• Gently firm and level the surface
• Scatter the seed thinly over the compost
• Lightly cover or rake in the seed
• Water thoroughly
Avoid sowing too much at once. Small, regular sowings every month until August will give a steady supply of fresh leaves.
Top tips for success
• Buy lettuce plants if you want a quick crop
• Avoid pots of rocket and other salads, as they often bolt after transplanting
• Grow spinach as a seedling salad to reduce the risk of bolting
• Rocket is prone to bolting in hot weather, so sow little and often
• Choose mixed lettuces for colour and variety
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