Kitchen Garden Forum

I've just acquired a medium size shallow polystyrene container which I thought would be just the right size for growing micro salad leaves indoors during the winter. However, I'm wondering how successful they would be, given the lower light levels at this time of year.
Has anybody every tried doing this and can suggest any particular seed suppliers/varieties which would be worth experimenting with?.

Hello Primrose
A really good place to start would be with the Japanese greens 'Mizuna' and 'Mibuna'. These will do well in all but the worst of the weather and they are cut-and-come-again as well. I start the seeds off in small seed trays (excellent germination), prick out into small modules then finally plant out at about 4-6 leaf stage. Slugs don't eat the leaves, mildew doesn't affect it - in fact they are the perfect winter leaves for salad use! The red Mizuna has a more peppery taste and a rich colour. They grow best with a high nitrogen feed and a little epsom salts. The leaves keep well in the frig. - I could go on and on. Don't try them in the summer months though as they bolt very quickly in warm weather.

John

Hi Primrose, in the past I have grown various salad leaf mixes OK in winter, on a south facing windowsill or in the lean to greenhouse which faces south, when really cold or snowy indoors is best. I think it depends what you like and personal taste, there are some winter hardy lettuce that I squeeze in the greenhouse or under fleece, and at the moment I am picking self seeded land cress for salads which is pretty hardy and fine if you like the peppery taste. The ruby chard is still producing for me at the moment. I intend planting some peas for pea shoots too, I also like sprouting afalfa which tastes like peas. I bought 500g of organic dried peas for growing as pea shoots, cheaper that way and good in stir fries as well as salads. mustard and cress is easy and grows reliably. Good luck with your salad leafs there are lots of mixes to choose from italian, tender leaf, or an oriental mix. you can use up a mix of left over lettuce seed too for baby leaves and start with fresh again next year.

We have grown salad leaves indoors over winter under a growing light and that was successful.

Hi Primrose,
There is a whole range of Lettuces that will grow through the winter months but they do so need as much light as you can give them.
Radicchio Treviso is in the Chicory Family and grown in the garden during the autumn and the roots can dug-up and moved indoors to be grown-on in total darkness.
Treviso produces individual leaves unlike normal chicory which produces tight chicons. Because they are produced in the dark they do not have the bitterness of normal chicory.
JB.

I think the growing light is probably the important piece of equipment. I have tried to grow salads over winter, including mizuna and cold-tolerant mixtures, but have found them unpleasantly tough compared to the same varieties grown in summer. I assume it's their slow growth in the greatly reduced light level which is at fault.

The thing about micro-greens is that they should be harvested when very small, ie. no more than a few inches high, and then they should not be tough. I start them off indoors in trays of MPC then put them into the greenhouse before they get 'leggy'.

It's a good way to use up old seed that you don't want to risk for main sowings next year. If it doesn't germinate just put something else in the compost. Virtually anything that has edible leaves can be used.

Overwintered salads like winter gem lettuce would probably not work well indoors without supplementary lighting.

Ours aren't really microgreens - the leaves are more the size of those in the bags of mixed leaves sold at the supermarket hence the light.