How to plant a salad patch for consistent supply | Gardening 101 | Gardening Australia

Jude shows us how to plant a lettuce patch for a constant supply of salad success. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe
Over the past few years, Jude has turned his family’s garden into a productive patch. Through trial and error, and of course, watching Gardening Australia, Jude says his skills really developed when he began volunteering at the local food growing co-op, Farm It Forward. Jude says, “I really started to learn a lot faster and pick up new skills. I can definitely see a difference in my gardening.”

One crop Jude is particularly proud of is his salad production and he’s ready to grow more. Jude says, “if you want to get completely out of the routine of buying salad leaves, then it’s important to have a consistent supply.” Planting out a second bed of lettuce will allow different batches of the same plant to mature at different times, meaning there will always be something to harvest.

Most lettuce takes about six weeks from seed to seedling, and another six weeks from seedling to harvest. In warmer temperatures you can sow lettuce seed directly into a sunny garden spot into a sprinkle of seed raising mix. In cooler temperatures where Jude is, seeds need to be raised in seedling trays indoors or in a greenhouse until they’re big enough to be planted out into the garden. Jude’s prepared a garden bed especially for hungry lettuce, packed with compost and nutrients. He plants his six-week-old lettuce seedlings roughly 20cm apart to give them space to develop.

There are many varieties to choose from and Jude says he’s developed a mix that includes “a few different plant types with different colours and flavours.” His favourites are butterhead lettuce, cos lettuce and mignonette varieties, as well as red veined sorrel which he says, “adds good colour to the mix, and when it’s young it has a really nice lemon flavour.” Sorrel is a tough plant, and it can be a weed if you’re not careful. Jude grows the green variety in another bed and divides clumps every few months which continuously doubles his supply.

Another great addition to the salad mix is mustard greens which Jude says, “adds a sharp, peppery flavour, so you only need a little bit.” Mustard is easy to grow from seed; make sure you’ve removed any big lumps from the soil, sprinkle seeds evenly and tap the soil down to make sure seeds have made contact with the soil. Water them in and continue watering them regularly as young plants establish.

Once this bed’s producing, the other bed will be finished and can be replaced with new seeds and seedlings. Jude’s advice is to harvest a bit off each variety at the same time. This helps keep the supply consistent, plus they’re mixed as soon as they’re picked, ready to be washed and eaten straight away.

With this system there’s always something to harvest, so there’s always something for lunch. Jude’s lettuce mix is making its way into salad bowls all around the neighborhood and we’re inspired by Jude’s salad success. What lettuce varieties are you growing to feast on?

Featured Plants:
LETTUCE ‘COS’ – Lactuca sativa cv.
RED-VEINED SORREL – Rumex sanguineus cv.
SORREL – Rumex acetosa cv.
MUSTARD – Brassica cv.

Filmed on Dharug & Gundungurra Country | Leura, NSW
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