Growing Salad Greens in a Container

Container gardening allows you to try new varieties and extend your harvest season, as well as providing an easier solution when you cannot plant outdoors.

Salad plants are cool season crops that thrive when planted from seed in September or October. Container gardening allows you to easily cultivate them as long as you use an appropriate size and type of pot.

Watering

Salad greens are easy to cultivate in limited space and, with regular fertilization, can produce multiple harvests. Use a container with drainage holes and fill it with leafy vegetable-specific potting soil; layer a high nitrogen mulch like un-sprayed grass clippings, alfalfa hay (lucerne), or compost over your surface layer mulching layer, helping retain moisture levels in the soil and decreasing competition from weeds. Pull any that appear promptly while rotating regularly so all sides receive equal sunlight exposure.

Seeds or transplants can be used to grow a range of salad greens, such as lettuce, endive, kale and Swiss chard. Many garden centers sell mixes combining these and other greens such as mizuna and chervil into mesclun. Other choices for salad greens include spinach, arugula and cress.

Add color and taste with edible flowers like nasturtiums, pansies and viola to add dimension and visual interest to any salad dish. Some flowers like nasturtiums, pansies and viola can help protect leaves from pests while others, like chives, cilantro and parsley offer fresh aroma. Raspberries and blackberries add sweetness while raspberries and blackberries give a fruity boost!

Fertilizing

Salad greens may not be easy plants to tend to, but their care can still be relatively straightforward. Container gardening with organic potting soil makes growing salad greens indoors or out easier by eliminating issues with insects, disease and poor soil conditions found in traditional vegetable gardens.

For optimal results, add compost or other organic material such as grass clippings to enhance the nutrient levels in your potting soil. Mulching can also help long-season vegetables like leafy greens retain moisture and prevent weed growth – and nearly-finished compost or unsprayed grass clippings make an excellent nitrogen-rich mulch that salad plants crave!

Most leafy greens are cool season crops, preferring temperatures under 85 degrees Fahrenheit to grow best. But this doesn’t preclude you from growing salad greens during the summer using heat-tolerant varieties specifically designated as such.

To maintain healthy salad greens, it’s crucial that they receive proper nourishment on an ongoing basis. All plant fertilizers contain three key ingredients – nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) – so select an all-purpose fertilizer with equal portions of these three elements. Liquid or water-soluble products make application the easiest, as they can easily be added directly into your watering can and diluted as directed.

Harvesting

As your plants’ leaves develop, they’ll form a dense mat that you can harvest by cutting only the outer leaves. Harvesting often will allow you to enjoy fresh salad greens for as long as possible while simultaneously stimulating further leaf re-growth for future pickings.

Leafy greens thrive in containers due to their rapid growth rate and shallow root systems, making them well suited to growing in containers. To start growing them yourself, find a tray, pot or window box with drainage holes and fill it with organic compost, alfalfa hay (lucerne) or unsprayed grass clippings as a nitrogen-rich growing medium that salad plants will flourish in.

Salad greens are cool season crops that thrive at temperatures under 85 degrees Fahrenheit and should ideally be planted between spring and fall; however, many are heat tolerant enough to thrive even during the heat of summer months.

Most vegetables sold as mesclun or mixed-leaf seed packages come packaged as “mesclun,” or mixed-leaf seeds, that contain several varieties of lettuce, endive, kale and/or other hardy greens. Depending on your climate and preferences for varieties or classics – plant the seeds in grid patterns then thin when seedling stage has arrived and harvest by cutting back several inches when needed; be mindful not to disturb their roots so the plants re-grow new leaves for another harvest!

Storage

An easy storage routine keeps fresh salad greens from wilting in the refrigerator, improving flavor and saving on costs. Most varieties thrive in cool temperatures of a crisper drawer of a refrigerator and could potentially last for 10 days with this approach.

To maximize the flavor and nutritional benefits of salad leaves, wash them just prior to using them. Soaking them in cold water allows any dirt or sand embedded within their delicate leaves to be loosed up before being dried off using paper towels or salad spinner.

Avoid over-soaking your leafy greens, as this can lead to them turning soggy and eventually rotting. Instead, the best way to wash your greens is with cold water run over their leaves – soaps or detergents could damage their delicate plants; followed by a quick rinse to eliminate any remaining dirt or debris.

If you cannot use salad greens right away, freeze them instead for later consumption. Freezing extends their shelf life by blocking spoilage enzymes from breaking down their nutrients and inactivating enzymes that break down chlorophyll. To best preserve flavor and texture when freezing salad greens individually in single layers before packing into airtight packaging.