Winter salad

With the brief onset of summer (before the return of the cold spring winds) I have removed the pvc cover from the winter cloche. Underneath the cloche the lettuces that have been providing salad leaves for months were still going strong. I have been harvesting outer leaves regularly for the plate, but recently have been having to share them with slugs. Hopefully the removal of protection will help with the slug problem by allowing predators (including me) to get at the slimy bastards.

If you ask me what was my favourite veg, I would have to say lettuce. In the summer I eat it nearly every day and ideally I would like to do the same in winter, but would settle for once a week.

The lettuces I grew over winter under the cloche were winter density, marveille des quatre saisons, and red salad bowl.  Also under the cloche were rocket (now beginning to bolt), red frills mustard, and a woodland strawberry (already showing flowers). The pak choi has been removed, as it bolted a few weeks ago.

Not all my salad vegetables were under a cloche. I successfully grew winter density and winter gem lettuces which managed to survive without protection and now are beginning to come into their own.  Green-in-the-snow mustard lived up to its name. Mizuna was doing well until it was crushed when the hoop cloche collapsed under the weight of snow. I have also been harvesting lamb's lettuce (mache) which started growing again a couple of months ago.

Lessons learnt:

• have a bigger cloche and use the coldframe so I can grow more lettuce and other salad vegetables
• from my rather limited selection red-coloured lettuce seems to survive the cold best
• oriental mustards are really useful
• remove any damaged leaves as the slugs love them and hide under them
• stagger the planting from August to allow harvests throughout winter
• Read Charles Dowding's excellent book "How To Grow Winter Vegetables" before I plan whaT I sow.