How to grow and gather your own delicious, healthy salad this summer

LETTUCES AND GREENS

A healthy salad begins with a base of freshly-picked peppery rocket and mustard, red and green lettuce leaves, buttery spinach, tart sorrel, vibrant maroon baby amaranth and scarlet-veined Swiss chard leaves.

GROWING

The most practical way of growing these in a small garden is the "cut and come again" method. Mix a variety of similar-sized seeds together and sow them quite thickly in blocks rather than rows. When about 10cm tall, harvest outer leaves from a selection of plants. Not only are these tastier as they are harvested when young, each picking encourages the plant to produce more. This extends the harvest by providing multiple harvests from one planting.

Tips

• Choose loose-leaved varieties rather than ones that form heads.
• In areas with really hot summers, avoid sowing seed in midsummer and use shade cloth to extend their lifespan.
• Greens taste best when grown quickly, which means providing plenty of water and nutrients from well-composted soil. Give them a liquid seaweed feed when about a month old. Consistent moisture is essential.
• Do successive sowings every month or so to ensure a steady harvest.

TOMATOES

Small tomatoes are a good choice for urban gardens as they produce earlier, more abundantly, and for longer than larger tomatoes. They come in a variety of colours and shapes, including classic red cherries; yellow pear-shaped varieties; oval ones with green stripes, and even purplish-black.

GROWING

Tomatoes are heavy feeders and need ample quantities of compost and other organic matter in their soil. They like warm weather and at least seven to eight hours of sunlight a day. Most small-sized tomatoes are climbers, so provide them with a tall support. Transplants do best when planted deeper than they were in their seed tray. Set them in the earth so the level of the ground is just below the bottom leaves. This encourages the growth of more roots along the stem, resulting in larger and healthier plants.

Tips

• Avoid overhead watering as this increases chance of spreading disease.
• Feed with granular potassium-rich organic fertiliser once flowers start forming.

Pick regularly to extend the harvest.

RADISHES

Instead of only growing regular red radishes, mix it up with white, pink and purple varieties.

GROWING

Radishes are quick to harvest and easy to grow in fertile soil. Sow from seed buried about 1 to 1.5cm deep - this encourages them to grow fatter roots. Thin them out so they have space to develop to a decent size. They need regular moisture to produce fat roots and will be ready to begin harvesting in about a month.

ADD UNIQUE FLAVOUR

The joy of a home-grown salad means you can add unusual ingredients such as green nasturtium or coriander seeds.

Simply leave the plants to flower and then pick seeds when green. Crush them slightly or chop finely and add to a dressing or sprinkle on top.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Herbs and flowers add unusual flavour and colour to salads.

• Chives and spring onions grow year round and add a subtle onion touch.
• Basil is a good companion for tomatoes in the garden and it pairs well with them on the plate.
• Use Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram to flavour vinegar for delicious salad dressings.
• Edible flowers make a salad pop - nasturtiums, chive flowers, rose petals, corn flowers, pansies, violets  are edible, adding vibrancy to a salad.

• Griffiths is the author of five popular vegetable gardening books including her latest release, 'Jane's delicious Superfoods for super health'. Visit janesdeliciousshop.co.za