Vegetable of the month: winter salad

The salad leaves we grow at The Community Farm in winter are quite different to the summer salads. All are chosen for their unique colours and textures.>

Variety’s the spice of life

We produce around 14 different types at The Farm. They’re mostly brassicas, and many are oriental varieties. We grow winter purslane; tatsoi; mizuna and a combination of frilled Japanese mustard leaves as well as baby kales, rocket and chard. The bigger the leaf, the more intense the flavour. We pick ours at various stages of maturity to give you delicious mix of mild and peppery flavours.

Winter wonders

These salad varieties can be grown all year round, but are better suited to the winter months which slow their growth. As soon as the weather warms up, they can go to seed and flower within days. They’re best planted just before the autumn equinox. After that, light levels drop and they’ll be slow to grow.

Plenty to pick

Winter salad is one of the only sources of light, fresh greenery this time of year. The varieties we grow are all multi-cut crops, they can be harvested three or more times, so we can continue to supply you with luscious leaves through winter. This autumn we sowed 40 trays (around 25,000 seeds) so there’s plenty to go around!