Constantly buying bags of supermarket salad leaves may be improving your diet and health but it comes at a cost, with cut and ready to eat leaves having a short fridge life before turning bad; most bags end up being thrown away.
The solution -grow your own salad planters. This doesn’t however mean spending your Saturday morning burrowing through the wardrobe to find those gardening shorts and digging up the lawn… Growing your own salad is a relaxing and uncomplicated way to release your inner gardener but does not require hours of attention or space, with the added bonus of saving you money on that weekly shopping bill!
This simple step by step guide, provided by Haskins garden centre, shows you just how easy it can be to incorporate a little more greenery into your home.
Step 1 – Choose your planter
Planters come in a variety of colours shapes and sizes; some even have adjustable fixings that will fit over a fence or balcony. However, if this doesn’t suit your home, any rectangular wooden, metal or ceramic container will do and can be left on the windowsill.
Step 2 – Fill a third with potting compost
Add enough compost to allow your plants to stand at the right height above the top of the planter. Any multi-purpose compost will be sufficient.
Step 3 – Select plants you like to eat and are suitable for the area where the planter will be placed
Stick to an odd number of species as this creates a balanced look. Plants can be grouped together to be visually appealing as well as combining a tasty selection of your favorite leaves. Good plants for container growing include red veined sorrel, pak choi and rocket.
Step 4 – Create interest by adding some trailing plants
Tumbling tomatoes will soften the edges of the planter by trailing and allow more space for the upright plants to spread; as well as adding a flash of colour.
Step 5 – Co-ordinate colours to create a visual appeal making this a key feature to your kitchen
Keep watered in dry spells and harvest salad regularly to keep leaves small and sweet. With your fresh leaves containing more key nutrients they will taste delicious and with a constant supply, your summer salad bowl will be rich in colour, key to any sunny BBQ spread.
Haskins Garden Centres are located in Ferndown in Dorset, West End in Southampton and Roundstone and Snowhill in West Sussex. Growyourgreens.
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