ON THE GARDEN PATH

by Carolyn Herriot

Cut-and-come-again refers to a simple method of harvesting young salad greens, whereby they are cut back with a pair of scissors and left to regrow. This way, several collections can be made from a single sowing. Mesclun (baby salad greens) mixes are suitable for growing in the smallest garden, and perfect for raised bed or container gardening.
Sowing a mesclun patch:
1. Blend a mix of suitable seeds, or buy a packet of prepared mix. (Note: Mustard greens and arugula add heat to the salad blend. Dandelion, chicory and endive add a tangy bitterness to the mix.)
2. Scatter seeds lightly over a prepared bed or filled planter.
3. Cover lightly and water.
4. Keep soil moist once the crop is growing.
5. Harvest the baby greens when they are four inches high, either by picking individual leaves, or by cutting to one inch above the ground with a pair of scissors.
6. Fertilize with liquid fish fertilizer. In two to three weeks, another crop will be ready to harvest.
7. Broadcast seeds every three to four weeks and cut-and-come-again greens will keep on coming.
Suitable seeds: arugula, beets, chard, chervil, chicory, corn salad, dandelion, endive, Italian parsley, kale, cress, lettuces, mustard greens, onion greens, oriental greens, orach, sorrel, spinach and perpetual spinach.
For winter mixes: winter-hardy lettuces, oriental greens, mustard greens, kales, cress, corn salad and spinach.
Four-season food gardens:
Why leave garden beds empty. Once early crops of peas, lettuce and garlic have been harvested, you can plant a wide array of winter vegetables? There are more than 40 varieties of cold-hardy vegetables to choose from.
The secret is getting the timing right, but once you factor a winter garden into your plans, it’s easy. Allocate garden space specifically for winter crops, or follow early crops of favas, peas, lettuce, potatoes, garlic or shallots by seeding or transplanting winter vegetables in their place. When following an earlier crop, don’t forget to feed the soil by adding organic soil amendments. Mixing compost, aged manure or leaf mulch into the soil helps keep fertility high for future follow-on crops.
If sowing seeds directly in the garden, the best time is late June to early August, but don’t forget the importance of daily watering during hot spells. Thin out emerging seedlings and help them establish more quickly with a few feedings of liquid fish fertilizer.
Transplants of cool-weather vegetables can be started outdoors, as they germinate in cooler temperatures. Most take only seven to 10 days to germinate and the only protection they need is from the sun. Transplant into the garden no later than mid-September to give the plants time to establish good roots before the onset of hard frosts.
Winter vegetables survive freezing temperatures by pumping sugars into their cells as antifreeze. That’s why kales, collards and brussels sprouts taste sweeter after a few hard frosts. Once harvested, sugars quickly convert back to starch, which is why store-bought vegetables can never match the flavour of fresh-picked ones.
Growing a winter vegetable garden is a snap, once the vegetables have been planted. There’s no weeding, no insect problems to deal with and no watering. All you have to do is put on your gumboots to harvest them!

Excerpted from A Year on the Garden Path: A 52-Week Organic Gardening Guide by Carolyn Herriot. $29.95. Earthfuture Publications, Victoria, BC. Available at Banyen Books, Duthie Books or at
www.earthfuture.com/gardenpath/

Plants for your winter food garden:
Lettuces: Brunia (red oakleaf), Rouge d’Hiver (romaine), Winter Density (butterhead), Vulcan (red leaf lettuce).
Salad greens: Endive, corn salad, cress, arugula.
Greens: Chard, kale, collards, mustard greens, perpetual spinach, tatsoi, bokchoi, Lutz beet greens.
Crucifers: Sprouting broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower.
Onions: Leeks, garlic, French shallots, perennial bunching onions.
Root crops: Turnips, beets, carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac.
Herbs: Parsley, coriander, rosemary, bay, oregano, sweet marjoram, chives, sorrel, lovage.
Tips: For transplanting from late-June to mid-July.
Transplant established seedlings no later than mid-September.
Help establish transplants with feeds of liquid fish fertilizer.
Add lime to brassicas to prevent club root.
Removing older leaves regularly prevents a build up of flea beetles and eliminates cabbage worms.

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