TOUGH BUT TENDER

Hardy lettuce offer the prospect of delicious and healthy pickings in the depths of winters and now is the time to get sowing, says KG editor Steve Ott

- Steve Ott

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the winter garden must be a barren place; not much to offer in the way of harvests. Yet besides winter-hardy crops like leeks, Brussels sprouts, and cabbages, it is possible to pick your own delicious green salads through much of the cold season. (See pages 46-49 for more potential late crops to sow now.)

It is true to say that it can be difficult to make things grow through the cold winter months and the trick is to get plants well established by the autumn so that they can tick over, preferably under the protection of a cloche, cold frame or cold greenhouse, until needed or to grow on slowly ready for an early harvest in the spring.

Winter lettuce is one such crop and it is important to choose the right variety, since while some summer types might survive a relatively mild winter undercover (last year I grew a packet of mixed lettuce that included ‘Webb’s Wonderful’ and ‘Lollo Rossa’ through the winter), they may not survive the coldest of cold winter spells. More likely the damp conditions might cause them to rot.

Winter hardy varieties, of which there are many (see favourite variety choice on facing page) are more tolerant to the cold and damp and are much more likely to not just survive but to provide some lovely healthy leaves when little else is available.

SOWING

You can sow your winter crop at any time during August and September. The earlier the better to allow them time to establish before the shorter, colder days of autumn and early winter put an end to growth.

Seeds can be sown thinly into a well prepared, sheltered seedbed outside where they are to grow or in a cold frame for transplanting later. I like to sow mine as I do all year in cell trays for planting out later with as little root disturbance as possible.