Why Little and Often Beats a Single Row

Sowing an entire packet of lettuce at once gives you a fortnight of gluts and a month of gaps. Succession sowing is the cure: sow small amounts every two to three weeks. Because salad crops are fast, you constantly replace tired plants with fresh ones. It also spreads risk, so a late frost or slug attack only affects one sowing, not the whole season.

Choosing Quick Crops for Steady Cutting

Not every salad suits this approach. Choose quick, cut-and-come-again types that tolerate close spacing.

• Loose-leaf lettuce: ready in four to six weeks; cut 2–3cm above soil and it often regrows.
• Rocket: three to four weeks, but bolts fast in midsummer heat.
• Mizuna and mibuna: fast, peppery and very hardy for spring and autumn.
• Spinach: pick young leaves regularly; perpetual spinach crops for months.
• Radish and spring onion: a short row every fortnight adds variety.
• Corn salad and land cress: sow in late summer for winter cutting.

Sow a pinch, not a packet. A 30cm row gives two people plenty for a week. For a larger household, sow two short rows rather than one long one.

Timing Your Sowings Through the Year

In most UK gardens, start under cover in March. From April, sow direct once soil has warmed, then repeat every two to three weeks until late August.

• March: a pinch of lettuce, rocket and mizuna under cover.
• April to June: direct sow every fortnight; water the drill before sowing if dry.
• July and August: sow heat-tolerant lettuce, rocket and spinach, with a little shade.
• September and October: hardy winter salads such as corn salad and land cress under cloche.

Under cover, keep a small sowing going even in winter for fresh leaves when the garden is bare.

Preparing Soil and Sowing Thinly

Quick crops need a fine, fertile seedbed. Fork over the top few centimetres, remove stones and weeds, and rake to a crumbly tilth. Add well-rotted compost if your soil is heavy or hungry. Salad leaves are shallow-rooted, so the top layer must stay moist and rich.

Make drills 1cm deep and 15cm apart. Sow thinly, aiming for a seed every 2–3cm. Cover lightly and water with a fine rose. In dry weather, water the drill before sowing as well as after. For tricky conditions, sow into modules and transplant when seedlings have two true leaves. Thin crowded seedlings and eat the thinnings.

Keeping the Harvest Coming: Water, Shade and Pests

Dry soil is the main reason salad bolts or turns bitter. During dry spells, water deeply once or twice a week rather than a daily sprinkle. Mulch with grass clippings or compost to lock in moisture. In midsummer, use shade netting or sow in the dappled shade of taller crops.

Slugs and snails are the worst pests, especially in damp weather. Go out after dark or use a grit barrier. Flea beetle peppers rocket and mizuna with tiny holes; fleece or insect netting keeps them off. Pigeons will strip young plants, so net if they are nearby.

Harvest little and often. Cut outer leaves first, or take the whole plant 2–3cm above the crown. A weak comfrey or nettle feed after cutting pushes on the next flush. Never strip a plant bare.

Extending the Season and Avoiding Gaps

Keep a simple diary of sowing dates and harvests. If a fortnight passes with nothing ready, sow a little more next year or choose a faster variety. If you are drowning in leaves, sow less.

For winter and early spring, rely on hardy crops and protection. A cloche, cold frame or unheated greenhouse keeps corn salad, land cress, winter purslane and hardy lettuce going. Sow these in late August and September, and pick leaves as needed rather than cutting whole plants.

Succession sowing asks for a little discipline. A pinch of seed every fortnight, a drink in dry weather and a net against pigeons will keep tender salad leaves coming for most of the year. Once in the rhythm, you will wonder why you ever sowed a whole row at once.