2024 - Salads for all tastes

This is the time to sow lettuces or transplant young plants. At the moment, you will find everywhere plants of batavia, romaine, escarole… And lettuce plants, in particular varieties such as ‘Augusta’, ‘Lettue du Bon jardinier’ and ‘Grosse blonde paresseuse’ which form beautiful very tender apples.

David Henriet, who gardens in the North, has devoted a book to the subject (Ulmer editions)

“The ideal soil for lettuces is soil that unfortunately does not exist everywhere, fresh and humus-rich soil. It must be quite fine and keep the humidity. Batavias are a little less strict in terms of the choice of soil. They can withstand dry spells, slightly drier and more draining soils. Chicory, escarole and curly endive are more tolerant of all types of soil and they even tolerate limestone better.”

“Preferably plant your lettuces in partial shade, they will go to seed less quickly.”

David Henriet

at franceinfo

Frisée and escarole are also summer salads but they are bitter. To eliminate this bitterness, they must be blanched, that is to say, cover the heart to deprive it of chlorophyll. It will then be whiter and less bitter. But with what to cover the heart?

“I have tried several techniques to blanch them. All of them work as long as you can air them from time to time, otherwise the humidity can cause the salad to rot. To cover the heart, you can use an opaque vegetable bell, a flower pot returned, straw, a jute bag… Do with what you have in the garden! Allow a week and a half to two weeks for optimal results.”

If you want to harvest lettuce, you have to watch out for slugs and snails, which also love them very much. David Henriet gives you some tips to limit the damage.

– Sow mesclun between or next to salads that are already well formed. Gastropods will more readily nibble on these small and tender leaves.

– Install beer traps. Be careful, these traps must have a lid to prevent hedgehogs from going to drink from them.

– In the evening, put boxes or boards right next to your salads. In the morning, you will find that the slugs have met below. You can then harvest them and give them to the chickens if you have any.