How to grow your own salad

Summer is the time to harvest your own salad and there is nothing like eating your own homegrown food. It is totally true what gardeners say, and that is, homegrown tastes best! At this time of year, when you grow your own food, you’ll find plenty of harvests from squash to brassicas, onions, fruit and delicious summer salads. To make sure you get the most from your space, here are some ideas for sowing, growing and harvesting your salads. 

Why you should grow your own salad 

Growing your own salad is really easy, and especially for beginner gardeners, it is a great place to start when growing your own food. The ideal thing about growing salad is that most can be grown in small spaces, in pots and containers and even on windowsills, so space isn’t a problem. Most salads are sown from spring through summer and harvested just a few weeks later, depending on what you are growing. Sow into a good quality peat-free compost and keep moist. If you start salads off before the last frost in spring, the seeds and plants will need protecting with a cloche or horticultural fleece. A greenhouse or polytunnel is ideal.