Extending the Salad Season

Use cold-tolerant varieties and row covers to have fresh greens for most—if not all—of the winter

As the growing season meander down , so do the spirits of vegetable gardeners . The day are getting shorter and cool , and there is a certain sense of relief in knowing that the season ’s lying-in is over . But for some of us , the impulse to set a seed and watch it rise is still warm . or else of putting the whole garden to bed , one way to balance the close - of - summer tedium with the pauperism to keep thing growing is by planting cool - season salad green .

Lettuce and many other salad green grow best in cool weather . In many region , it is possible to imbed seeds in September and have cat valium to harvest through December . In my Long Island garden , I plant varieties selectively bred to flourish in cool weather and , soon after planting , cover them with simple body structure made from a stalwart row - cover fabric stretch over conducting wire hoops . This system provides me with William Green into December and sometimes beyond .

Peter’s picks for cool-season lettuce

These varieties have performed well for the author , producing lucre well into December in his Zone 7 garden .

‘ Arctic King ’ green butterhead‘Brune d’Hiver ’ bronzy - green butterhead‘Little Leprechaun ’ semi - dwarf romaine‘Rouge d’Hiver ’ red romaine‘Dark Lollo Rossa ’ red Italian type‘Winter Density ’ green semi - cos romaine‘Continuity cerise ’ scarlet crisphead‘Red Ridinghood ’ Boston - character butterhead

Plant greens bred for cool weather

Lettuce is naturally a nerveless - time of year crop and , because of its popularity , many varieties have been breed to withstand very cold temperature . Those that are suit to dusty weather are easy to name by epithet like ‘ Arctic King ’ and ‘ North Pole ’ , two green butterhead - type lettuces . There is also ‘ Winter Density ’ , one of my favorite romaine gelt , which has been hump to last almost class - turn in the mess of Vermont . I also turn ‘ Winter Marvel ’ , a green loose - foliage lettuce that is extra moth-eaten sturdy , and ‘ Rouge d’Hiver ’ , a unaffixed - headed romaine lettuce eccentric with a flimsy cherry blush . Two more of my favorites are ‘ Continuity Red ’ , a cerise crisphead lettuce , and the romaine lettuce - butterhead cross ‘ Blushed Butter Cos ’ .

In addition to lettuce , I develop other nerveless - season commons . Kale , particularly the variety ‘ Winterbor ’ , is one of the hardiest wintertime greens and is by far the effective performing artist in my wintertime garden . I also produce the tasty and nutritious miner ’s lettuce ( Claytonia perfoliata ) and corn salad ( Valerianella locusta ) , also known as mâche or lamb ’s lettuce , both of which will winter into spring . My winter garden is never without arugula ( Eruca sativa ) , which is at least as tough as the coolheaded - time of year lettuces , and mizuna ( Brassica juncea ) . French sorrel ( Rumex scutatus ) is another sturdy wintertime green that will survive in pickable word form with no more than a few pin leaves packed generally around its root . A quiet - leaf spinach , such as ‘ Denali ’ , and both curly - leaf and Italian flat - leafage parsley uprise contentedly under my course cut through all winter .

I direct - sow the seed for my salad plants ( or plant seedling ) in September in my Zone 7 garden . Those who live in warmer or nerveless arena should time planting so that the young super C can become well found before the weather chill off . If you start the works when the weather and soil are already cold , you will have a tougher time getting them to acquire for you . I do n’t do anything peculiar to the soil except to scratch in some well - rot compost before sow or planting to boost near solution development . The greens will ask about half the amount of water they utilise in the summertime , and they can typically get this from rain , which penetrates the rowing cover fabric . I also use dribble irrigation to make any extra lacrimation easier .

Row covers keep the cold out

As soon as my seeds and works are in the ground , I encompass them with row - cover fabric to insulate them . The best mode to do this is to create small greenhouselike structure with conducting wire hoops and the row binding . This heavy - duty fabric is said to protect plants to temperatures as low as 26F , but it has perform even better for me , protect my bread when the nighttime temperature have omit to 20F. A heap reckon on daytime temperature , too , which can be lovesome in my sheltered garden . The rowing - cover charge tunnels trap enough warmness to put up more auspices than the manufacturers lay claim but not so much that the plants get overheat .

Row - masking fabric , technically known as spunbonded polypropene , is useable in roll of depart lengths and breadth . I practice Agribon+ AG-19 , which I buy in an 83 - in - wide roll , and Typar T-518 . The latter come only in 15 - foot - wide roster , but I foreshorten it with a razor blade , on the roll , to a more commodious size of it . A standardised product is Agrofabric Pro-17 , which is also uncommitted in 83 - column inch - wide rolls . All three case are sturdier than the exchangeable but weak - weight fabrics I use in the outpouring and summer for louse protection , but all of the textile hold rain and up to 85 per centum of sunlight . With aid , I can reuse these framework for at least three year .

To support the fabric over the plants I utilize 9- or 10 - gauge telegram hoops . This grueling wire is usable in large curlicue or in pre - cut 76 - in lengths . I prefer to preserve a second of money by doing the cutting myself , and I have found that 63 - column inch lengths of wire are the right size for an 83 - in - wide row cover . First , I denounce the wire with a ruddy marking at about 8 inches from each ending . This leave me to dip the end to identical depths so that the superlative of the basket form a fair straight pipeline . I crowd one closing of the conducting wire into the stain until it pass on the red mark . With that end ground , I retain on to the free end , bend the wire into a smooth curve , and thrust the end into the other side of the seam . To get the hoop in a straight line , so that I stop up with a straight tunnel , I mark the edges of the bed with string . I place the hoop 3 feet apart , then mildly stretch the course cover song over the top side of the hoops .

I have often laid row cover in berth by myself , but it is a pile well-to-do with another pair of hand to facilitate . Even the heavy row cover will fly in a wind , so I expect for a tranquil day . I center the fabric over the hoops , then make a turn of events in one end and drop anchor the book binding firmly at the twist with a conducting wire flag . Then I go to the other end of the line of hoops and stretch the fabric so it fits smoothly but not tightly over the hoop and lynchpin it there as well . I leave an equal amount of excess cloth on each side of the tunnel so I can drop anchor the edges all the way around . The edge must be impregnable , because if wind get under them the tunnel may take flight away . To secure the fabric , I scoop a shallow furrow with a hoe and bury the edge of the cloth in the crease . you’re able to also use rock , soil , or extra conducting wire bowling pin to secure the fabric .

When I ’m quick to harvest my salad , I free the wrangle cover along part of one side , cut the plants with a pair of scissor grip at soil level , and supersede the cover as quickly as possible . Then I invite some Quaker over and shanghai them with a home - grown salad in the dead of winter .

Fine Gardening Recommended product

Ho - Mi Digger - Korean Triangle Blade

Corona High Performance Orchard lopper

Razor - Back Potato / Refuse Hook

Get our late tips , how - to article , and instructional videos sent to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Ira’s favorite salad dressing

How to Extend the Vegetable Growing Season

A Mini-Farm in San Francisco

When the Salad Makes Supper

connect Fine Gardening for a barren engage live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant pathologist as well as prof emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical coach …

When I spotted a particular grit dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in worry . With a delightful people of colour radiation pattern …

When we only prioritize plants we want over plant our landscape needs , each season is fill with a never - ending lean of chores : pruning , pinching , tearing , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be careful when you record the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re likely to trip on something , but because you might be dive - bombard by a pair …