July is a fantastic month for edible gardening, with a huge number of different crops that can be planted. The team at Washingpool Farm tell us what we should be planting – including salad leaves, which will be ready to harvest in no time at all.
What to grow in July:
The following edible plants are good to sow in June and July – plant them directly into soil outside:
- Nasturtiums (the flowers and leaves are lovely in salads, peppery flavour)
- Sunflowers (leave the seed heads standing in the winter for the birds)
- Carrots
- Beetroot
- Radish
- Spring onions
- Salad leaves
- Coriander
- Dill
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
The following can be planted now and then transplanted later in the year for a winter/spring crop:
- Kale
- Broccoli
After June 21st, you can plant Oriental crops such as pak choi and Chinese leaves: they are less likely to bolt (send up flower spikes) once the days start to shorten.
Growing salad leaves
This summer, what could be better than to get your children to grow salad leaves from seed and then for them to enjoy eating them with their own homemade dressing?
Growing salad leaves is easy, quick and fun to do. The seeds can be sown and the salad leaves harvested from spring to autumn. All you need is a container, compost, seeds and a means to water them.
In the Discover Farming Classroom at Washingpool Farm, children who visit are given a mixed bag of seeds to sow including red chard, rocket, pak choi, purslane and mizuna. This encourages them to taste different type of salad leaves, some they have probably never experienced before. It also helps them to realise that much of the food they eat develops from seeds, and that different varieties do not mature at the same time.
Sowing is easy:
1. Fill the container with organic multi-purpose compost, scatter over the seeds, sprinkle with some more compost to cover the seeds and water.
2. Put the container in the dark to allow the seeds to germinate, this will take about 10 days.
3. Check regularly to ensure that the compost has not dried out. Add more water if it has.
4. Once germinated, put the pot on a window sill and watch the salad leaves grow, watering them regularly. You will be surprised at how quickly the seeds start to grow green shoots and produce lettuce leaves that are ready for picking. They should be ready to eat within 4 weeks. Just make sure that you keep watering your plants regularly and enjoy watching them grow.
5. When ready to eat, pick them individually so as to let the smaller leaves grow. For long term growth, it may be a good idea to add some liquid feed.
www.discoverfarming.co.uk
www.washingpoolfarm.co.uk