The Tribune

A revolution has taken place in the home garden and it is reflected in recent seed catalogues. Once upon a time tomatoes were king of the garden. In the 2012 Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalogue tomatoes take up 12 pages. Lettuce and greens take up 26 pages. In addition, chicory (escarole), endive (witloof), dandelion and radicchio are used in salads and these have another couple of pages of their own.

A general groundswell towards healthier eating is no doubt behind the rise of lettuce and greens to such a prominent position. But not only do people want healthy leaves, they want them in a great variety of shapes, textures and colours. A modern gourmet salad is like an artist’s palette.

We have the same types of lettuce as we had a generation ago: romaine (cos in Europe), iceberg, Boston (or butterhead), bibb, lollo, and loose leaf. These have in turn been subdivided and have been used to produce many different varieties. The addition of greens to the mix is to foster piquancy and flavour. True lettuce has a milky sap while greens do not.

A mixture of lettuce leaves and greens is called mesclun and usually includes red and green romaine, oakleaf, red and green lollo, mixed with mache, sorrel, arugula (rocket, roquet), and cress.

Featured among the speciality greens are regular denizens of a Bahamian garden such as Malabar spinach (invited) and purslane (uninvited). Some oriental greens are available as well as long- established amaranth, and mustard greens.

Our success in the garden with lettuce often depends on a cool fall and winter. The cooler the better. The most dependable of lettuce is loose leaf that is rarely sold individually in stores, only in mixtures. My favourite is the reliable Simpson Back-Seeded that can be picked outside leaf by outside leaf as needed and will continue to grow. There are bronze and red and oak leaf types of loose leaf lettuce that come together to make all the salad you will normally need.

Romaine or cos lettuce tends to grow with coarse leaves in our climate but is palatable if picked very young. Cutting the whole plant an inch above the ground will allow new growth to develop. Boston or bibb lettuce grows fast and is acceptable if it is picked early.

Iceberg lettuce is the hardest of all to grow with the exception of some tropical varieties that deter bolting – the early production of seed stalks – and bitterness. These usually only grow to softball size and should be cut then.

With the addition of greens, as in a mesclun, you can go to the lettuce garden every day with a pair of scissors and crop all the young leaves you want. Another week later the cropped plants will be leafing and ready for the scissors again. With an area set out big enough for your family’s needs you will be able to provide an interesting salad base over a long season. With successive sowing from October until April you will produce a great deal of greenery.

Lettuces have dense but small root systems and it is important that they receive very regular watering. Only moderate fertilization is required and a once-weekly application of soluble fertilizer will keep your leaves green (unless they are meant to be red or bronze). Lettuces and greens are best grown in blocks, allowing an extra inch between plants from what the seed package recommends.

When you first sow your seeds you will, in effect, be growing a miniature salad bar for snails and slugs. The moment you see any green it is wise to sprinkle snail bait amongst you plants.

So many pages of salads. So many choices to make. So many salads to mix. Let’s get to it.

j.hardy@coralwave.com